Kyouchouriki
by Koinugami
Summary: This particular fanfiction is undergoing tentative revisions. Updated content, but consider it Dead.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

_Drip._

"Shinigami-sama, Lord of the End, we beseech you. Grant us mere mortals an audience with your presence and power. Help us turn the tide of this terrible war. We beg of you, Shinigami-sama."

_Drip._

It was cold.

_Drip._

"We beg of you, Shinigami-sama."

Dimly lit.

_Drip._

"We beg of you, Shinigami-sama."

Chanting.

_Drip._

"We beg of you, Shinigami-sama."

_'Why…otou-san…kaa-san…nee-chan…why…?'_

_Drip._

"_We beg of you, Shinigami-sama_!"

_Drip._

A deep, baritone cackling rang out, stealing any remaining warmth in the air. The child, no more than seven, looked up with heavy-lidded eyes at the origin of the unworldly voice. Those same eyes instantly widened and the boy fought to shriek in horror, but all that came out was a gurgle and blood.

He fought to escape, to run, to hide, to cower in any possible way, but to no avail, for he was bound securely against a boulder, along with the rest of his family.

He fought to live, though his life was quickly pouring away, courtesy of the wound in his neck.

He fought to hold onto his soul…but he could not against the four obsidian eyes of the Death God.

A monstrous appendage extended towards the dying child and the onlookers did nothing but watch in barely suppressed fear. Clawed digits wrapped around the boy's head and _pulled_. A pale, translucent form was ripped from the body, which slumped and continued bleeding to death with vacant eyes.

The Death God ran its putrid, black tongue over its sharpened teeth as it raised the wriggling soul in its hand to its head.

_'No…NO! Please…please…no…why…WHY?!'_

How does one begin to describe what a soul feels while being consumed by the Death God? The very fabric of one's existence being torn, ripped, gnashed, and shattered, doomed to forever drift in pieces in the belly of the Shinigami was too abhorrent to put into words, much less witnessed by the score or so men and women that condemned the innocent civilian family of four to such a fate.

**"The soul of a child, recently cleansed and relatively untainted by the experiences of life…how **_**delectable**_**." **The Shinigami cackled again, freezing its audience to their very cores. Then it turned around to face them, all seasoned warriors and ninja, and they all trembled in fear, some more violently than others.

**"So,"** it breathed, **"you humans have chosen to sacrifice these sheep to me. You have violated their souls by tearing them from the cycle of rebirth and doomed them to a broken existence within my belly. In doing so, you have also doomed your own souls by marring them with such a foul act…but nonetheless a pleasant flavor in it of itself."**

Another bone-chilling cackle; it did not sound displeased about this horrible sin, but rather increasingly amused.

**"And so, my audience of particularly imprudent mortals…to what does this God of Death owe this onset of most curious events?" **The tone was inquisitive, yes, but it carried a dangerous edge to it; it was beyond audacious for some motley crew of meager mortals to summon a greater deity. One man, however, forced himself to step forward and crouch upon the floor, bowing deeply.

"Great Shinigami-sama," he spoke with a slight tremor. "One as mighty as you never owes us lowly humans anything. We merely seek to form a pact with you, to implore for your aid in settling this decades-old war."

**"Your petty squabble because of the discovery of your pathetic chakra? Why should I influence the outcome of this war when I can reap the plentiful bounties? You yourself have sent many a soul into my loving embrace,"** it finished with a sickening grin.

"If this war runs its course, there will be no longer be any human souls for you to reap!" the man cried out indignantly. "It has gone on for far enough; there are many of us who wish to settle down and live in peace."

**"Again, how would **_**peace**_** benefit me?" **The tone of the Death God had become impatient.** "Do not waste my time, worm, with your useless grasps at power."**

Another man spoke up in desperation. "We are willing to pay any price for this intervention, Shinigami-sama! Anything at all!" he pleaded and prostrated himself on the floor. A chorus of echoes cried out in agreement.

For long moments, the Shinigami was silent. It had closed its eyes and made no movement, showed no emotion. Finally, after contemplating, it decreed in a neutral tone:

**"Very well, humans. I, the God of Death, shall grant upon this world nine Beasts of Earth and Spirit. I call upon this world nine instruments of Destruction to command. Those who would seek them out and be found worthy, I bestow upon thee nine extensions of My Will."**

The various men and women rejoiced and offered their profuse thanks for the deity's great power and mercy. A woman spoke up hesitantly, "And what is your price, Shinigami-sama?"

It was a menacing chuckle that responded.

**"In time, I will collect my payment. Until then, mortals, enjoy your pitiable war."** With that, the Shinigami faded away into its realm, and the flock of ninja quickly exited the cave to spread the news, leaving the carcasses of their sacrifices behind, forgotten.

That night, nine tendrils of crackling black light engulfed nine unsuspecting animals.

* * *

_Many years later, on a chilly October night…_

"**Fuuinjutsu: Shiki Fuujin Hakke Jouin!**"

There was a blinding flash of light.

The rushing sounds of incredible energies filled the air.

An unearthly howl reverberated under the crescent moon.

Silence reigned for several moments.

The wailing cries of a newborn pierced the night.

And then…then there was the sound of the sky's sorrow as the rain began falling.

The Yondaime Hokage clutched the precious bundle tightly as he fought to stay standing. Time was running out; he could feel his soul slipping away from him. But Kami, his legs felt like jelly, his arms were losing feeling, and the world was dimming. The ground looked invitingly soft; if he would just sit down, he could rest, he could sleep, he could see Kushina again—

_'No…not yet. Not yet, dammit!'_

Namikaze Minato concentrated on the feeling of his fading existence. Not fully aware of what he was doing and operating on pure determination and defiance, he _yanked_, and the Fourth Hokage regained some sense of solidarity.

"Minato!"

"Hokage-sama!"

"Ero-sensei, saru-jii," he greeted his two mentors with a tone that was calm and collected, but casual as well, as though this were just any other day between the three peers. The Yondaime did not turn around, however, instead keeping his gaze on his child, whose cries had reduced to whimpers.

"Minato…" breathed the white-haired man known far and wide as the Toad Sennin. "Is that…?"

"Aa…Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki?" repeated the oldest one of them all. "Ah, I see…yes, that would be wise." The serious tone then changed into a wistful one. "He has the shape of Kushina's eyes and face…"

"Haha…yes, he does, doesn't he?" the Fourth replied with melancholy inflicting his voice.

"Hokage-sama…you are not—"

"None of us are at fault here and I suspect the one who is has already covered his tracks," he ground out with a hard edge. But then he sighed and continued, "More important things need to be done. Sensei..."

"I know, Minato. I will take care of…_that_."

"Sensei," the Yondaime spoke in an admonishing tone. "Please trust me. Will you do as I have requested?" He heard his teacher sigh heavily.

"I will, Minato."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. Thank you for everything."

The Toad Sennin gave a gruff grunt in reply, not trusting his voice. He concentrated on the task at hand and after a few moments, he disappeared to fulfill his student's last wishes.

"Hokage-sama—"

"There's no more need for that," he interrupted the elderly man. "I need a favor, though, saru—no…Sandaime Hokage-sama."

"What is it, Minato-kun?"

"Could you activate the seal on my left shoulder? I do not believe I can focus the necessary chakra right now."

The Sandaime's lips twitched at the blond's dry tone. "Of course, Minato-kun. Where are you going?"

"The Monument. I want to show my son something before I go."

The elder swallowed hard and nodded, then raised one of his hands to the man of greatness before him and directed power into the intricate pattern that lay under his robe and clothes. There was a flare of yellow light under his hand before the former Hokage disappeared, leaving the newly reinstated one to handle affairs on his end.

"Farewell…Minato."

* * *

His son was looking up at him with wide cerulean eyes. The infant felt _something_ happen and seemed more bewildered than actually frightened.

"Ah…sorry about that, Naruto…son." The word felt heavy on Minato's tongue as he tried it out in directly addressing his and Kushina's baby. "Perhaps one day, you'll know what exactly what that was." He gave his son an easygoing smile, and when the little infant reciprocated with a wide toothless smile and a happy gurgle, Minato's vision suddenly blurred with tears.

"Look, son," he said thickly after a few moments and raised a hand to point at the view overlooking his village. His arm shook for more than one reason; Minato felt the sensation of his fleeting existence becoming more and more insistent. He was reaching the limit of the Death God's patience.

"Look, Naruto," he said again, gathering the remnants of his strength. The infant gazed towards the indicated direction as his father clutched him more tightly to his chest.

"This is Konohagakure, Naruto. This is our village. Your mother and I love this place dearly, almost as much as we love you. I hope that if all goes well, you will come to love and protect this village just like we did." Minato swallowed the lump in his throat and took a slow breath. "But no matter what happens, Naruto, you are our greatest hope, and we will be watching over you. We love you, son, so please…please forgive us…" Minato shut his eyes, stemming the tears and looking as though he were praying to the infant for salvation.

And so, the son of the Yellow Flash and the Whirling Rose gave another cheerful babble, smiled so wide that his eyes closed and his whisker markings became more pronounced, and turned away from the sight of the majestic village of Konohagakure, choosing instead to bury his face into his father's vest and grasp it as tightly as his tiny hands could.

It is said that at the precipice of a person's death, they see the course of their entire life flash within their mind's eye.

For the blond man, he was granted flashes of a life that _could have been_.

* * *

_Walking down the streets with their son clasping one of each of their hands in his own, the villagers greeting the family with reverent smiles and open hearts._

* * *

_Trying to hold back a wide smile as his wife and son got into an eating contest, not at all understanding how they could love such a simple food with their amount of fervor and where it all went._

* * *

_Trying to determine whose smile was bigger: his own, his wife's, or his son's as they collectively gazed upon two little bundles, two girls: one with green eyes, one with blue, and both with locks of rose._

* * *

_Staring at the backs of his fully-grown children, and feeling an immense rush of pride and warmth at the sight of the orange and black-flamed robe donning his son._

* * *

And Namikaze Minato, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, found he just could not hold back his tears.

_'Kushina…I want to see you again…but I really…I don't want to die…'_

...

…

...

"Minato-kun!"

Having squared away the immediate bureaucratic duties of becoming the Hokage again and dealt with the necessary orders of business in the aftermath of the Kyuubi's attack, the Sandaime Hokage quickly made his way up to the Hokage Monument. He saw the almost regal figure of Namikaze Minato standing and facing the village, a slight wind causing his robe to billow, and ran up to him with amazement and hope blossoming in his heart.

_'Is…he's still standing…could he be…?'_

"Minato-kun! Mina…to…"

Hope died, but amazement remained, for this was a man he would always remember as a calm, collected individual with radiant blue eyes that sparked with intense intelligence and tempered passion. This man, he would remember, stood tall and proud with a woman beside him, and though she was missing from this picture in front of him, he could see her clearly beside the blond man, with her flowing rose-colored hair and eyes of jade, whose passion was unbridled and whose power equaled her husband's. The Sandaime would remember that the pair charged through life with a blazing light and an ironclad determination, and it was this determination that he could still see in the Yondaime Hokage's figure.

Namikaze Minato, who offered up the lives and souls of himself and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, to protect their son and their village, had exhaled his last breath and died still standing, still cradling his now-sleeping son to his chest with his eyes closed forevermore and his face in the portrait of sorrow-tinged serenity.

And when the Sandaime Hokage wiped away the tears from his wizened face and reached to gently take Uzumaki Naruto out of his father's arms, the infant awoke and began crying anew.

* * *

_Four years later…_

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not some naïve fool.

Son of the legendary Sarutobi Sasuke and student to both Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, the First and Second Hokage respectively, he was a living legend in his own right. He was known far and wide as the "Professor" or more magnanimously, the "God of Shinobi," and came out of retirement to act as the Sandaime of Konohagakure for a second time. Even his age was a testament to his prowess and capabilities; it was considered quite a feat for a full-time shinobi to even reach the ripe age of thirty. The Third Hokage was approaching his sixties, and friend and foe alike found it absolutely mind-boggling.

He was no stranger to difficult decisions; the little boy sitting in front of him was just one of many examples. In the aftermath of Minato and Kushina's deaths, Hiruzen knew he could not afford to take liberties with their son. Minato's hopeful wish had gone mostly unheeded and the attitudes of Konoha towards the boy varied greatly.

Most adopted the tactic of careful avoidance and pointed disdain, like he was some dirty little secret of the village. Some feared the Kyuubi would burst forth from his little body and continue the fiery destruction it had started all those years ago. Others eyed the child the same way they would admire a fine blade at a weapons supply store. A few kept hatred and paranoia close to their hearts, and they believed that the demon was merely recovering and purposefully utilizing a physical body with characteristics similar to the Fourth Hokage as a constant reminder of what it had taken away from Konoha.

Even more rare were those willing to make the connection, and those who did had the wisdom to keep the knowledge to themselves.

And so, while Hiruzen wanted to let his son Asuma or one of the clan heads like Uchiha Fugaku take the boy in, he had to be mindful of the general consensus of the village and demonstrate he was the most capable leader they could have in these trying times. The death of the Fourth Hokage meant that other villages would see this as an opportune time to…_delegate_ new power dynamics across the continent, and that warmongering rival from his youth, Shimura Danzou, would be thriving in the middle of it all, consequences to Konoha be damned.

As he had once heard from some of the younger generation saying in the streets: the _hell_ with that shit.

Logically then, an orphan would have to be placed into an orphanage like any other _normal_ orphan, but would the choice be one that was on the outskirts of the village or closer to the central population? Would the demon child be kept out of sight, out of mind, or would the little boy be allowed a certain amount of leeway?

Hiruzen settled on one near some administrative buildings, which also happened to be in the direct line of sight of the Hokage Tower. It sent a clear, but neutral message: "I am keeping an eye on this child." The villagers were appeased.

Hiruzen also decided that he would see the boy no more than once a month, a routine inspection of sorts made personally by himself, the most powerful resident of Konohagakure. The villagers found this sound.

In the meantime, Hiruzen focused on preventing another Great Shinobi War. Thankfully, the most likely instigator, Iwagakure, did not kick up much of a ruckus, but then again, Minato had decimated so many of their warriors, it would have been pure suicide to try anything; even if the Yellow Flash was dead, his spirit certainly lived on. Thus, in between careful diplomacy, the Third focused more and more on trade with the other villages, opening up communications for regular citizens and allowing the economy to boom, thanks to fine Konoha goods like onigumo silk, a buffet of unique lumber, and masterful metalwork, courtesy of so many artisans also being well-versed in Katon techniques. The villagers loved him even more.

Through it all, Hiruzen found the time to make a monthly visit to the orphanage to check up on the boy. He thoroughly cherished the opportunity to watch the child of Minato and Kushina grow up, but there were some things he noticed. For instance, the boy's eyes would light up considerably when the old man came into his field of vision. For another, he would eagerly open up his arms to any adult nearby in attempts to receive physical contact. Then as he grew older, it dwindled down to just the old Hokage, and the boy would happily cling onto the grandfatherly man and take on a look of pouting misery when it was time to part.

The Third also noticed that in his toddler years, while all the other children were beginning to utter words and nonsensical sentences by the age of two, this particular child never uttered an articulate sound. During these monthly visits, Hiruzen would talk animatedly about everything and nothing, about the village, about his family, about his life, though heavily censored for the ears of a precocious child, even about his dreams and hopes. The boy listened with great intent, and Hiruzen suspected the child did so whenever his peers or caretakers exercised their vocal cords, but as he grew, the boy was essentially mute. The teachers in his primary school reported that he would not even speak there.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not some naïve fool.

So today, on the boy's fourth birthday, Sarutobi adopted a wistful look and said:

"Naruto-kun…I don't think I've ever told you about your parents."

The effect was instantaneous: the boy's spine straightened and he looked up at the Third Hokage with wide eyes. His mouth was parted and the lips moved without noise.

_"My…pa…rents…?"_

"Yes, Naruto-kun, your parents," Hiruzen nodded. "Ah, but I can't tell you their names. It's a secret, you know, because your parents were so incredible."

The boy pouted a little, but had a slight gleam in his eyes. He knew what a secret was and it was a thrill for any child to be aware of such mystery.

"But I _can_ tell you that they were good friends of mine. They were amazing people and they loved each other so much, the world seemed more beautiful whenever they were around. But, Naruto-kun, as hard as it may be to believe, they actually loved you even more than that."

_"They…loved me…"_

Was that a sparkle in the boy's eyes? But then the gaze turned questioning and Hiruzen sighed, knowing what he wanted to ask.

"Your parents loved you, Naruto-kun, and they didn't want to leave you, but they had to in order to protect you and this village. They gave up their lives for you and for everyone else in Konoha because they were also great leaders and powerful ninja."

"…Ninja?"

It was barely a whisper, but Uzumaki Naruto finally spoke his first word, and though Hiruzen was immensely relieved, he felt a chill in the recesses of his heart.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not some naïve fool. At least, he liked to think so.

In watching Naruto grow, the old man often wondered how the boy would turn out and what he would do in his life. Pragmatically speaking, the path was already determined though. Uzumaki Naruto was the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, and he lived in Konohagakure, arguably the most powerful shinobi village at this point in time. Yet, Sarutobi Hiruzen hoped that Naruto might end up as someone with a more…_secure_ life. Perhaps an artist or a musician; the boy exuded an aura of slumbering passion and skill.

The God of Shinobi had his hopes, but the significance of Uzumaki Naruto's first spoken word was not lost upon him. The die had been cast.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Do you know what a ninja is?"

_Shake, shake_.

"Have you heard the word before?"

_Nod, nod_.

"I see…well, Naruto-kun, a ninja is someone with a special kind of power. Have you read stories with superheroes in them?"

_Nod, nod_.

"Well, ninja are similar to superheroes; they have superpowers and they are supposed to act as warriors and guardians of their villages."

_Point_.

"That's right, I am also a ninja," Hiruzen smiled and placed his hand on the child's blond, spiky, locks. "You're a smart boy, aren't you?"

_Blush_.

He fidgeted a little and looked off to the side in embarrassment, but it soon turned pensive. The Third Hokage watched him curiously and could practically see the gears working behind those bright azure eyes. Finally, the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina redirected his gaze back to the Sandaime's and held a look of such concentration, intensity, and determination that the Professor was taken aback by the wave of nostalgia that suddenly assailed him.

With vitalized vocal cords and a clear voice that should not have come from a heretofore mute child, Uzumaki Naruto asked:

"Jii-chan…how can I become a ninja too?"

**PROLOGUE OUT**

* * *

**Translations:**

Fuuinjutsu - Sealing Technique

Shiki Fuujin - Dead Demon Seal

Hakke Jouin - Trigram Purification

saru-jii - roughly "old monkey"

ero-sensei - roughly "perverted teacher"

sennin - sage

* * *

**Author's Note:** I shall begin to add these Notes to the end of each chapter as I revise them. For you, the readers, they will offer a glimpse into the thought processes behind scenes and developments. For me, they will be a means of organizing my ideas and I hope they will keep me grounded and on track.

Before I revised each chapter, I was struck with feelings of constraint and childishness. I strove to remedy that, and the prologue is no exception. My aim here was to invoke more emotion rather than give information. I also scrapped the prophetic portion of the prologue, if only because I've grown to despise prophecies.

What hasn't changed is my love for character development, and in the brief time that we get to see Minato in this story, I wanted to convey just what kind of person Konoha lost that night: a living legend, a compassionate leader, and a loving father. Of course, sadist that I am, I plagued our beloved Fourth with bittersweet visions before his demise.

I know I gave Kushina the shaft here compared to the original draft, but I hope to flesh her out through pieces of lore and memories throughout the story. Just keep in mind that a lot of concepts behind this fic were developed years ago, well before where the manga is now.

In fact, I would ask that you disregard the entire Part II when reading this fic.

As for our protagonist, there's no convoluted reason why the boy started off mute. I just thought it'd be a nice touch of irony. Plus, it's not hard to imagine that if people take great pains not to interact with him, he wouldn't develop as well in the beginning. Well, at least before he finds that spark of his.

Hopefully, the subsequent Notes won't be as lengthy. The prologue received a relatively radical change, so it had to be addressed.


	2. Interlude One: Advent

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

When Uzumaki Naruto awoke on the morning of his tenth birthday, he felt decidedly _weird_.

Well really, he had felt weird many times in his young life before. He felt weird when he first noticed adults looking at him in a peculiar manner, but he didn't feel any of the usual sadness or anger at the moment that accompanied it. He felt weird when Sandaime-ojii-chan told him that he could start living in his very own apartment on his seventh birthday, but he didn't feel the same blankness and subsequent joy right now. He felt weird when he realized the milk he had been drinking had been expired for three days, but he certainly didn't feel like he needed to rush to the bathroom at this particular moment.

Uzumaki Naruto just felt really…_weird_. It was like he was more _aware_ of things this morning. He had always been able to see objects with more clarity and detail than others, hear over relatively long distances or find that whispers could be as loud as a normal conversation, and even pick up on the slightest scent, a fact that pretty much explained why he hated tasks like taking out the trash. But this morning, it all seemed all the more _refined_ in some way, and it puzzled him to such great extent because he could not fully describe it.

He shook his head, deciding he really didn't need a headache first thing this particular morning. Naruto decided last night that he would finally go down to the Konoha Ninja Academy after school and enroll. Registration had opened on the first of October, but he had put it off. He thought he had made up his mind years ago in front of the Third, but on the night before, Naruto lay on his bed unable to sleep because his mind was being pestered by lingering doubts.

A certain one of his quieter classmates came to mind: a small boy who would constantly murmur to himself, "I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away," before an exam.

And so, Naruto affirmed that despite the fact that some questions still lingered—

'_Will I be a good ninja?'_

'_Will I be strong enough?'_

'_Will I be able to protect people?'_

'_Will I be loved?'_

—he would shoulder them and press forward, and what better time to take the first steps towards a new chapter of his life than the day he turned ten, the eligible age of when one could enter the Ninja Academy in Konoha?

Thus, with that bold and commendable mindset in place, Uzumaki Naruto glanced at his clock and promptly began panicking.

"Oh _crap_, I'm late for class _again_!"

Throughout the apartment complex, several inhabitants looked up at the loud proclamation and sighed with hints of a smile tugging at the corners of their mouths. Village pariah he may be, but that Uzumaki kid could be quite entertaining sometimes.

* * *

The gruff old teacher had merely looked up at Naruto entering the classroom before pointing towards the hallway.

"You know the drill…boy. Two pails, ten minutes."

His classmates had all snickered, but no one in the room would make any eye contact with him. However, the situation was far from deterring.

"Hah, only two? How boring! I'll not only carry two pails, but also a third on my head!" Naruto proclaimed and swelled his chest.

The other students chortled and murmured amongst themselves at his audacity, and the teacher just rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with one of his hands before attempting to rein authority over his students once more.

"What, you don't think I can do it? I won't take back my words, you know!"

"Now see here, young man!" his teacher suddenly snapped, addressing the boy as he would any other delinquent student. "Whatever foolishness you want to engage in, you can go do so, but cease wasting any more time in my class, especially when you come barging in ten minutes late! If you want to take a third pail, then we might as well make it for twenty minutes instead!"

Naruto just grinned widely, satisfied with everyone's responses and throwing the old educator off somewhat, and proceeded to exit the classroom to partake in his punishment. All the while, the other children continued to titter and he remained their subject of discussion.

Although more and more people came to treat him with careful neutrality over the past few years, which was better than the majority of citizens regarding him with outright distaste and anger, Naruto had found himself displeased with the increasing lack of attention.

Inspiration, however, came to him when he watched a comedian performing in one of the streets of the entertainment district about three years ago. As he surveyed the humorous man from a nearby rooftop, Naruto, like the rest of the audience, found him to be a matter of ridicule, yet charismatically so in a positive light.

Naruto, throughout his life, was driven by a need for attention, but hadn't quite known how to go about it. He was very energetic and physically adept, as evidenced by his physical education classes, but no one actively sought him out as a playmate.

He was not the smartest kid in the class, so he could not obtain the position of an academic elite; even when aggressively applying himself to his studies, he found that he was only an above-average student.

There were two additional problems with that route: one was that the week he actually forced himself to sit still, pay attention, and devote his free time to his studies was decidedly hellish and torturous.

Even now, whenever he saw a particularly large book, his eye would develop a curious twitch.

The other was that he recognized that there was a certain alienation in being one of the intellectually gifted with his class; they were generally well-liked, but the other children, himself included, felt there was some distance they could not cover to fully reach them.

But upon his observations of this particular comedian that day, who allowed himself to be the subject of mockery, Naruto realized that making people laugh was basically making people smile, and when people smiled, that meant they were happy. Even the people who didn't laugh had to acknowledge his existence in some way, and he also found out that he could end up surprising people and himself if he usually acted foolishly, allowing people to come to expect him to be that way.

It was tricky, and Naruto was beginning to really love playing tricks.

Ever since then, Naruto had slowly come to indulge in outrageous actions that would, at the very least, produce a quirk of the eyebrow and a twitch of the lips, from incidents like excusing himself from the classroom every five minutes on the dot to nimbly jumping _onto_ every hurdle rather than over them in physical education.

And so, here he stood, outside his classroom with a pail of water in each hand and a third pail balancing precariously on his blond head. Naruto savored the moments when an adult would walk by, do a double take, and give a bewildered look or when a fellow student passed by and glanced at him with slight admiration that was quickly masked.

As he stood them and let time pass by, Naruto felt a sense of restlessness and it was though a part of him wanted to do something more than these tricky little antics. He had a vague idea that this was the same part of him that sent a wave of displeasure through his mind when he had reached for his jacket earlier at home. Naruto attributed it to the same _weirdness_ he felt when he woke up; he liked the jacket because it was bright orange and a size or two too large, thus garnering attention, but in reaching for it earlier, he apparently also disliked it _because_ it was bright orange and a size or two too large.

The ten-year-old briefly wondered if this was what was known as "going insane."

His reverie was disrupted when his instructor informed him from the room that twenty minutes was up and he was to go dispose of the water and return to class immediately. Continuing to balance a pail of sloshing water on his head, Naruto made his way down the school hallway until he passed a few empty classrooms.

And bang went the idea of "returning immediately."

Giggling quietly and manically to himself, albeit as manically as an adolescent can manage, Naruto swiftly put his spur-of-the-moment plan into action, carrying the pails into the empty rooms and taking care to close the blinds. Though the seats of the chairs were a pale cream color, it didn't hurt to be safe.

'_I wish I had some yellow food coloring to sweeten the deal. Ah well. Another time.'_

Several minutes later, the pails were placed away in the storage closet and Naruto made his way back to class, whistling a carefree tune and wondering how many people he'd get.

* * *

Naruto did not usually enjoy arithmetic. Numbers are an abstract realm and the rules of mathematics made him feel constrained. However, when it came to the fruits of his labors, he found that math really wasn't all that bad.

'_Four classrooms, thirty seats…that's a hundred and…twenty…plus four teachers possible…'_

He began counting.

'_And that makes a total of…eight-seven kids and three teachers with a wet spot on their asses. Damn. Would've been something if all one hundred and twenty-four looked like they had an accident.'_

"Ahahaha!" he cackled from atop a jungle gym in the front yard and letting his victims know exactly who was responsible. "Sorry guys, but my teacher didn't tell me exactly where to dump the water, so I got a little creative! See you tomorrow!"

Naruto deftly leapt off and ran out through the gates with the angry, embarrassed shouts of his peers like music to his ears. Looking over his shoulder, he saw some kids giving chase, but the awkward way they ran just made him laugh even harder.

**INTERLUDE OUT**

* * *

**Author's Note:** The Beast stirs and the Trickster soars. What a cheeky kid.

Each individual's personality is uniquely formed, and it's only the simple logic of a child that can say: Well, if they're laughing, they're happy, and if they won't pay attention to me, I'll make them…one way or another.

So, the Ninja Academy. I had always envisioned that kids in ninja villages went to a primary school, and those who would become ninja went to a specialized school after a certain age. I picked ten years old for Konoha because after experiencing war, I would imagine Hiruzen and Minato pushing for peace, and that means not pushing for pumping out child soldiers. However, because villages are constantly on edge, there's gotta be some middle ground between idealism and practicality. For a child to become to fully-fledged shinobi with the doctrines of Konoha, I'd imagined:

Ages 5 to 10: Primary School for basic life skills

Ages 10 to 14: Ninja Academy for additional life skills, basic shinobi training, and weed out undesirables

Ages 14+: Assignment to genin team for in-depth training and career as a ninja, or booted back to the Academy or civilian life

So why four years at the Academy? I thought that'd be enough time to cram anything primary school didn't cover along with rudimentary Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu theory, kunai and shuriken training, basic anatomy, physiology, biology, toxicology, and psychology, military training and tactics, et cetera.

Moreover, the age of fourteen is in the middle of a volatile period of life, as many of you may recall with fond(?) remembrance. Consider the dangerous occupation of a shinobi and the constant state of war-slash-not-quite-war between ninja villages. Throw a teenager into those circumstances, and yeah, you won't get a very healthy development. You'll also most likely get high levels of emotions and rash snap decisions. Some of those decisions may be relationship-based and lead to fateful and fruitful encounters, most of them occurring at night. In a bed.

Don't look at me like that. It's plausible enough and with twisted logic in hand, we'll have a number of shinobi and kunoichi taking leave to raise a family, not only protecting a village's military population but also increasing it.

Isn't war great?


	3. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Holy shit, what the hell?" pretty much summarized the thoughts of the general population of Konohagakure this particular morning. The village's most prominent landmark, the Hokage Monument, was utterly destroyed. Bright paint of various colors, from hot pink to canary yellow, covered the faces of the greatest ninja in the history of the village. Should any enemy invasion have occurred that morning, most of their forces would have collapsed in laughter at the sight of the humorous visages of the Hokages.

Uproarious laughter rang out through the streets as a fourteen-year-old boy with blond hair, three clefts on each cheek, and in a red-orange and black jumpsuit nimbly leapt from rooftop to rooftop on all four limbs. His pursuers really should have caught him by now; a group of chuunin and one or two jounin were much faster than a mere academy student, but the brat was just too wild and sporadic in his dodging.

"Shit! Oi, this way! He went this way!"

Cries of "Hai!", "Osu!", and "Yes, sir!" followed as the hunters landed near a wooden fence, kicked up a dust cloud, then leapt off towards the East District. Relative silence reigned for a few moments. Then, there was stifled laughter.

Uzumaki Naruto could no longer keep it in as he dropped the illusionary cloth and began laughing merrily. "Ahahahah! Too easy!" he giggled, one arm bracing against the fence with the other around his waist. After the laughter died down, Naruto took a deep breath and looked up towards his greatest prank to date.

Even that part of him that was not entirely him felt a detached amusement.

"It's…just too beautiful," he said, wiping away an imaginary tear.

"Yes…quite a masterpiece."

"Glad you think so too, Iruka-sensei!"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Uh…hiya, Iruka-sensei!"

Another pause.

"Uhh…you see…I was…uh…sensei?...S-sensei?"

The sounds of menacing, advancing steps were remarkably similar to the knells of a death toll.

"...D-Don't look like me like that…sensei…okay, put the kunai down…and the rope…and the…I-Iruka-sensei…?"

Pity the fool who incurs the wrath of Umino Iruka, Academy Instructor.

* * *

"Hey, midget man! You look like shit!" Inuzuka Kiba crowed from his seat, grinning. Akamaru barked from atop his usual perch on his master's head.

"Go piss on a tree, dog turd!" Naruto grinned right back, though he did look a little worse for wear. There were nicks and tears all over his clothes, as well as holes from where he was pinned down with kunai. Dust was all over him and he was tied up in a cocoon of rope and wire.

_'Didn't think he'd use an explosive tag. Damn, this rope chafes!'_ He squirmed indignantly.

"Figured you were the one who did that hell of a creative expression. Very nice."

Before Naruto could reply, Iruka interrupted. "Kiba, unless you're willing to join Naruto in his punishment, I suggest you stop encouraging him."

Kiba had the decency to look sheepish.

"Now then, since we've lost the whole morning," he glared down at the struggling blond. "I've decided…that we're going to have a pop quiz!" Groans. "On history!" Louder groans.

"Way to go, Naruto-no-baka!" Haruno Sakura shouted down, with many of the class echoing.

However, on the inside, she was yelling, _'Another easy A for me, shannaro!'_

"So troublesome," muttered Nara Shikamaru, while Akimichi Chouji grumbled as he had to put away his chips.

Aburame Shino just adjusted his glasses, while Hyuuga Hinata pressed her index fingers together, stealing glances now and then at the blond boy.

Yamanaka Ino gave a cry of "Dumb blond!" that sparked an argument on who exactly the dumber blond was.

"Typical dobe," came from Uchiha Sasuke, which promptly directed Naruto's attention to him. Sasuke smirked down condescendingly towards Naruto, who stuck his tongue out at him and called him a stuck-up duck butt, but could not escape the pang of rejection in his heart.

"Enough! Shut up and sit down!" yelled an irate Iruka.

His students shut up and sat down.

The instructor proceeded to ask various questions to his students about Konoha, shinobi, and other history in general, all without bothering to untie Naruto, who began wiggling around the floor in protest.

After awhile, Iruka shouted, "Naruto!" The boy froze and looked up. "Since the object of today's…attentions was the Hokage Monument…" Naruto gave an awkward chuckle. "…Why don't you tell us all about each of the Hokages up there?"

Naruto gaped at his teacher, pouted, then spoke up animatedly.

"The Shodaime Hokage was said to have been a master of the lost Mokuton jutsu and with his own power, he created a village for his people to live in peace in. The Nidaime…not much is known about him, but he was the brother of the Shodaime and they say he turned the tide of the Third Great Ninja War with his unrivaled ability with Suiton jutsu. Our Sandaime is known as The Professor because he's rumored to know about every jutsu in history, and he came out of retirement when we needed him to lead Konoha again. Oh, and he's an old closet pervert!"

This caused a number of laughs, but before Iruka could protest in outrage, Naruto continued in an uncharacteristically somber tone.

"The Yondaime Hokage…is considered to be the greatest Hokage and shinobi of all. He was the best warrior of the Fourth Great Ninja War, going into battles by himself and coming out unharmed, preventing many Konoha casualties. He also destroyed the Kyuubi no Youko when it attacked Konoha fourteen years ago, but at the cost of his own life."

To himself, Naruto thought, _'And he's probably part of the reason people hate me so much; we look so much alike, the villagers must be reminded of what they lost every time they see me.'_

It was odd, though; every time he though of the Yondaime, he had a nagging feeling, as though his very soul were tugging at him. Outwardly, Naruto just grinned brightly. "Do I pass, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka smiled wryly. "Hmph. If only you put that much effort into the other parts of your studies, Naruto."

"Oi oi! I do decently enough on practical skills, don't I?" Naruto protested loudly.

Iruka just gave him a patronizing smile and pat on the head. "You're not completely hopeless," he quipped, much to Naruto's chagrin.

Iruka turned to the rest of the class, the majority of which were shaking their heads and looking disapprovingly at the dead last of the class.

"Alright, everyone, get out of here. The Genin Examination is tomorrow, after all, so study up, practice, and get some rest. Good luck tomorrow! Now, scram!" All the students promptly began getting up and leaving, even Naruto, who wriggled towards the exit. "Oh no you don't, Naruto. You still have your punishment, remember?" Iruka smiled a little sadistically. The blond stared up in abject horror at this injustice.

"Haha, have fun, shrimp!" Kiba laughed. Hinata gave a small look of sympathy before she fled out of the room, while Ino and Sakura sneered at him. Sasuke gave another smirk as he left, but it was quickly gone when Sakura and Ino started asking him out for a date.

After the remaining students filed out, Iruka bent down and cut through the ropes. "Come on, Naruto. You've got a lot of work to do." He got a loud groan in response.

* * *

"The Scroll of Forbidden Seals, eh? Hm…yeah…this could work." The man grinned sadistically as he put his plan together while burning the missive in his hands.

* * *

Naruto grumbled as he scrubbed the paint off the rocky surface of the monument. In retrospect, maybe he painted a little too much.

"Naruto, if you don't hurry it up, you'll be at this all day and not get home early!"

Getting a little frustrated, Naruto couldn't keep from sulkily snapping, "Not like I have anyone to go home to." He focused all his attention to one particular spot that wouldn't come off.

Iruka winced. An awkward silence between them ensued. He cleared his throat. "Naruto…I know you like the attention you get from your pranks, but why desecrate the faces of the Hokages?" Naruto went still, but didn't turn around. "You obviously know a lot about them and respect them…in your own way…so why this?"

Naruto turned around with an unexpectedly cheerful look on his face. "Because tomorrow, Iruka-sensei, I'm going to take the first step towards becoming greater than all of the Hokages up here!" Iruka blinked in surprise, gaping slightly, but Naruto pressed on. "I'm going to become Hokage one day, sensei. I'll protect this village and earn everyone's acknowledgement and respect! And I won't go back on my words! That's my nindo!" Naruto finished with a radiant grin and his cerulean eyes sparkling.

Iruka was stunned. _'But why? Why protect a village whose people mostly scorns and ignores you? How do you gain acknowledgement and respect like—'_ And then Iruka understood. It was the most manipulative but noble prank he could think of. He smiled down at the boy and ruffled his hair. _'You're something else, Naruto.'_ Naruto looked puzzled but then smiled back widely, causing Iruka to be taken aback slightly.

As the boy turned around to continue working, Iruka studied the blond, reflecting on how those blue eyes practically radiated with happiness at the physical contact.

"You know, Naruto," Iruka spoke after a moment while bending down to get a sponge, "I used to be like you."

"Eh?" came the confused reply. "How so, Iruka-sensei?"

"Oh, believe or not, this well-mannered and disciplined sensei used to be obnoxiously loud…"

"Obnox—hey!"

"Hopelessly attention-grubbing…"

"_Hey!_"

"And a little bit of a prankster, too." He laughed softly as he scrubbed, practically feeling the indignation rolling off his student in waves. "Honestly," he continued in a more somber tone, "I didn't know how to feel about you when I first met you."

Naruto just glanced at him in a puzzled manner as the older man recalled the torrent of emotions he felt that day four years ago when Naruto first entered his classroom.

"…Well, you certainly made an impression," Iruka added wryly as he also recalled the amount of confetti that accompanied the boy's entrance.

"Eheheh! Isn't that a good thing then, sensei?"

"Let's just say it's not a completely bad thing," he quipped, ruffling the boy's hair again.

"Geez, have a little faith in me, sensei," Naruto groused.

Iruka laughed, but said seriously, "Of course I have faith in you, Naruto. After all, it's important to have faith in the future, especially for a teacher…no matter what happened in the past."

"What's that mean, Iruka-sensei?"

The academy instructor just flicked some water at his pupil's face with his sponge. "You'll find out when you're older."

Naruto pouted again, but then his eyes lit up when he realized something. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, you said you used to be a prankster too!"

"Did I now?"

"Heheh…how bout we compare notes someday? I bet we could come up with some great stuff together!"

"Ohhh no, Naruto, you're not dragging me into all that again. I'm a responsible adult now, not a foolhardy kid." When Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, Iruka added, "As much as I'd like to give you a run for your money and show you what a real prankster can do."

"Hah! A boring adult like you? I doubt it, sensei."

"Well, it _is_ also a teacher's responsibility to curb such arrogance," Iruka laughed. "Maybe someday then," he said in a mock conspiring whisper.

"Hehe, definitely, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's answering grin could have lit a whole room, prompting Iruka to ruffle his hair once more.

"Come on, Naruto. When we're done, let's get some ramen. My treat."

The blond ninja-to-be's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and then he cheered loudly, "Wahoo! Ramen!"

Iruka stared as Naruto suddenly began cleaning with a speed that could make an ANBU jealous. _'Guess I won't be needing this anymore,'_ he mused as he dropped the sponge back into the bucket.

Later that night found a very sated Naruto patting his belly and a very poor Iruka crying silently at the sight of his dismal wallet at Ichiraku Ramen.

* * *

A yellow blur raced towards the Academy the next morning.

_'Shit I'm late shit I'm late shitI'mlateshitI'mlate shiiiiiit!'_ Naruto had slept a little too well after the fulfilling meal of last night.

_'Only ten minutes have passed since the exam began! It's only ten minutes!'_ he thought frantically as he burst through the main hall doors. His classroom got closer and closer.

_'Almost there!'_ He barreled straight into the door.

Everyone jumped at the sound of a small explosion, followed by a slight skidding sound, then glared at the source of the noise. Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Eheheh…yo!"

The amount of twitching that Iruka's eye was doing could not have been healthy. He methodically picked up a copy of the written portion of the exam, a pencil, walked over to Naruto, and shoved the items into the boy's face. Naruto sputtered but quailed under Iruka's fearsome gaze. Iruka just pointed to Naruto's seat and spoke in a deathly quiet voice. "You have forty-five minutes left. _Move_." Naruto's head bobbed up and down, and he quickly moved to his chair, grinning cheekily to anyone glaring at him.

Iruka sighed as he sat back down next to Touji Mizuki, the other proctor for this class and Iruka's childhood friend, who just smiled and patted Iruka on the back.

Naruto looked over the packet of papers. There were well over two hundred questions, ranging from subjects about basic ninja tools, the rules of shinobi, rudimentary knowledge of jutsu, hand seals, _et cetera_. He sighed and closed his eyes, and when they opened, they held an intense amount of focus. Naruto knew he wasn't smart like some of his classmates, but he wasn't as stupid and ignorant as everyone believed. _'No screwing around here.'_ The situation called for him to do what he could, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon and Naruto was confident that he was doing alright so far. _'Pretty sure I got at least seventy percent of the questions right…okay, sixty at least. Gods, I hate bookwork.'_

He did better at the physical portion; his accuracy with shuriken and kunai was average, his quick and nimble fingers were proficient at tying things like rope and ninja wire, his demonstrated trap was creative, and he was the most agile at the obstacle course, barely beating Kiba's time by two seconds and change.

Now, he was waiting his turn for the last part of the exam.

Soon enough, after Sasuke walked out of the classroom with a superior air about him, a triumphant smirk on his face, and a shiny new Konoha hitai-ate, Iruka called out Naruto's name. As the two passed each other, Naruto could've sworn he saw Sasuke mouthing "Good luck" out the corner of his lips. Stunned, he completely forgot he was going to trip the bastard and turned around, watching Sasuke leave the building. He shook his head, ran inside the classroom and closed the door.

Iruka and Mizuki watched the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja of Konoha stop in front of their desk.

"Yo, Iruka-sensei. Mizuki-sensei," Naruto grinned, dipping his head slightly. His proctors smiled back, though Iruka's was a little tight; he hadn't forgotten about Naruto's earlier entrance, nor how Naruto's trap singed the top of his hair a fair amount.

"Good to see you, Naruto," spoke Mizuki. "So far, you're doing well enough; you got a sixty-three percent on the written test, but the cutoff's seventy percent. For the physical part, it says here you hit the mark seven out of ten times with shuriken and eight out of ten with kunai. You got the best times for the obstacle course and the knot tying, and we still haven't been able to untie the damn thing. And I believe Iruka here was pretty impressed with your trap," he chuckled, as did Naruto. Iruka only scowled. "However," Mizuki continued, "it was a little on the flashy side; in a real situation, it could've alerted more enemy ninja. Keep that in mind the next time." Naruto scratched the back of his head and nodded while laughing a little.

Iruka spoke up next. "Now technically, you've failed the written part, but passed the physical portion relatively well. If you can demonstrate an adequate skill with the three elementary jutsu, you'll become one of Konoha's newest genin."

If possible, Naruto looked even more cheerful. "You got it, Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei! I definitely won't go back on my word!"

Iruka smiled. "Alright, Naruto, we'll hold you to that. Let's start off with Bunshin no Jutsu. Make three clones for us, please."

Naruto put his hands together in a series of hand seals. "**Ninpou: Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Three poofs of smoke revealed three copies of the blond, though two of them looked fuzzy.

Iruka nodded while Mizuki said, "That's acceptable, though it looks like you pumped a little too much chakra without channeling it properly."

"Yeah, I kinda suck with control," Naruto chuckled, dispelling the clones.

"Just something else you'll have to improve on," replied Iruka. "Now, if you'll notice behind you, Naruto, there are four chairs labeled with A, B, C, and D. I'll shout out the letters for thirty seconds and you'll use Kawarimi to replace yourself with the corresponding chair. It'll get faster over time, and we'll be looking at how fast you switch as well as if you're right."

"Osu!"

"Here we go. A!" Poof.

"C!" Poof.

"D!" Poof.

"C!" Poof.

"A!" Poof.

"B!" Poof.

"D!" Poof.

This continued with increasing speed until thirty seconds was up. "Okay, you can stop now, Naruto. You missed two times."

"B, C, and D sound too similar," Naruto grumbled. "You guys should use more different sounding commands."

"Think of it as a listening test built into it," Mizuki replied, laughing. Naruto just stuck his tongue out.

"Last one, Naruto: Henge no Jutsu," Iruka said. "First, transform yourself into…the Sandaime."

Naruto nodded and put his hands together. "**Ninpou: Henge no Jutsu!**" Poof, and Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before the two chuunin.

"I don't see any flaws. Iruka?"

"Neither do I. Nicely done, Naruto." The boy dropped the transformation and flashed a victory sign. "Next transformation…hmm…how bout…Uchiha Sasuke?" Iruka said with a devious smile.

Naruto gave him a 'are-you-freakin'-serious' look and shuddered, but put his hands together again. "**Henge no Jutsu!**" Poof. The Uchiha legacy appeared, smirk in place and all, though on his forehead were the words "duck butt."

Mizuki and Iruka both snorted, but they quickly tried to cover it up. "Again, no flaws, Naruto," said Iruka. "Because that had to have been on purpose." He pointed to "Sasuke's" forehead.

Naruto dropped the Henge and just laughed his ass off. "Man, I wish one of you guys had a camera!"

"I kinda do too," chuckled Mizuki. "Alright, Naruto. For your final transformation, you can Henge into whoever or whatever you want."

Naruto adopted a pensive look, and after a few moments, gave an evil smile to Iruka, who felt a chill run down his back. "This is payback for having me turn into the bastard, Iruka-sensei! **Henge**!" Poof!

Iruka and Mizuki stared into the smoke, trying to make out the figure. Once they could, however, they both wished they hadn't been staring so intently. A voluptuous blonde girl with long twin pigtails and absolutely no clothes on was standing right where Naruto had been.

"Heehee! Ne, sensei, will you teach me more…?" she inquired coyly, placing a finger on her lips and crossing her legs.

The force of their nosebleeds sent Iruka and Mizuki sprawling to the floor, blood splattering all over.

Naruto dispelled the technique as soon as they hit the floor, unconscious. "Kyahahaha! Oiroke no Jutsu, success!" He bent over each of them to check their pulses and laughed some more. He wiped his eyes and looked over to the rows of new hitai-ate. "Guess I pass!" he crowed, snatching one up and tying it to his forehead without delay.

Naruto gave one last look at his still knocked out teachers and ran out of the classroom and building with a megawatt grin, laughing all the way.

Hinata watched on, feeling her heart lifting at the sound of his rich joyous voice, but looked curiously at the classroom door. She edged towards it and took a peek inside.

Naruto's laughter began anew when he heard a loud "Kyaaahh!"

A new beginning punctuated by a little chaos.

Life was good.

* * *

"Ossan! Another miso ramen for Konoha's newest genin, please!"

"Right away, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto saluted Ichiraku Teuchi and went back to slurping down his current bowl. Life was good.

"Congratulations again, Naruto-kun!" Ayame smiled as she took the empty bowls beside him away.

"Heheh, thanks again, Ayame-nee-chan!" He picked up the bowl and chugged down the rest of the soup, slurping loudly. Teuchi and Ayame just grinned; it was a great compliment to a ramen chef when the customers slurped their meal. Plus, Naruto was their best benefactor and good friend.

"So you're finally an official ninja for the village, eh kid?" Teuchi said as he set down a fresh bowl. "What're you aiming for now?"

Naruto's eyes positively glowed as he proclaimed, "I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

Both Teuchi and Ayame smiled wider. "We have no doubt, Naruto-kun," replied Ayame. Her father nodded without hesitation.

Naruto's throat tightened slightly as he grinned wide enough to close his eyes.

"Don't worry about paying tonight, Naruto," spoke Teuchi. "It's on the house for Konoha's next greatest guardian!"

The tight feeling in his throat increased. "Thank you so much, you two!"

"Hey hey, no waterworks, kid! The broth's salty enough! Get back to enjoying your noodles!"

"Osu!"

Yes, life was good.

* * *

"Phew! I'm stuffed!" Naruto patted his belly as he walked through a park under the evening sky.

"Nice to see you've enjoyed yourself."

Naruto jumped and spun around, getting into a defensive position, but he relaxed when he saw it was Mizuki.

"Heya, Mizuki-sensei! Err, you're not mad for earlier, are you?" Naruto began sweating slightly.

Mizuki just chuckled, however. "No, no. You certainly caught us unprepared, though." He walked over to a bench and sat down. He motioned Naruto over. "Come and sit down, Naruto."

The genin complied. "What's up, Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki looked down at him with a serious gaze. "I have something very important to propose to you, Naruto."

Naruto tilted his head curiously. "What's that?"

"Remember earlier, when we mentioned you had the best times for knot tying and the obstacle course?" Naruto nodded. "Well, I've been thinking of nominating you for a special training course based on that. See, I have a buddy who's in ANBU's Reconnaissance Division. I wanna put in a good word about you and see if he can get you placed in a program that'll groom you for the division or something else suited to your skills. What do you think?"

Naruto was half beaming, half in shock. "That's…that's freakin' awesome!" He suddenly narrowed his eyes, however. "What's the catch?"

Mizuki smirked. "You're sharp, Naruto. The catch is, I have to confirm you're worthy. I already have a little test for you in mind. Are you interested in it? In this whole deal?" Naruto bobbed his head up and down rapidly. "Excellent. See, there's this big scroll in the Hokage's office…"

* * *

Ayame trailed her hands up Iruka's body. "Mmm, Iruka-_sensei_…what will you teach me about, I wonder…?"

Iruka shivered under her caresses and pulled her face close to his. "How bout an advanced lesson in Anatomy, Ayame-chan…?"

Ayame giggled breathily in response and leaned in closer to Iruka, who closed his eyes. "Iruka-kun…Iruka-kun…wake up."

_'Huh?'_

"Huh?" He opened his eyes…and stared into the wizened face of the Sandaime Hokage. Iruka blinked. Twice. Then he screamed. "Ho-Hokage-sama! Ow…" He clutched his head. 'What the hell…where am I?'

"Would you like to tell me what you're doing lying in a broom closet, Iruka-kun?"

"I…urgh…let's see…I was testing Naruto…then he did…um…a rather devastating technique." Iruka began blushing.

"Ahh, I think I know what you mean. I just recently had…intimate knowledge about this technique," replied the Sandaime, also blushing.

Iruka looked puzzled and sighed. He resumed trying to remember previous events. "I was knocked out…then I woke up, groggy, and someone was saying to swallow something. It would help me recover, but I think I passed out again. And then…here I am."

The Sandaime had a grave look on his face. He stood and pulled Iruka up to his feet. "I'm afraid I have bad news about Naruto; that's why I sought you out."

Iruka paled and tensed. "What happened?! Is he alright?!"

The Third Hokage closed his eyes, and then stared intently into Iruka's eyes. "Naruto has stolen the Scroll of Forbidden Seals."

The words processed themselves in Iruka's head. He paled. "Wh-what? How?!"

The old man coughed and muttered, "The details don't need to be known." He turned serious. "I've already dispatched a search party. I'm also ordering you to track him down. You're one of the few adults who know him best. Find him, Iruka, and bring him back unharmed, with the Scroll."

"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Iruka quickly ran out of the building, into the night, despite the pounding in his head. The Sandaime sighed when the chuunin was out of sight and began to head out as well.

_'What were you thinking, Naruto?'_

He had to find a hair of Naruto's; the crystal ball, even with its limited properties, would be extremely helpful now.

* * *

In a secluded part of a forest on Training Ground Eight, a figure was panting slightly, his heart racing. Naruto slung the heavy scroll off his back and sat down on the grassy floor. "Now all I have to do is hold onto this thing for three hours and then find Mizuki-sensei. Easy."

He grinned at the thought of how he gotten this scroll. All he had needed to do was ask to see the Hokage in an emergency. Once he was in the office, alone with the old man, he used Oiroke no Jutsu to incapacitate the closet pervert. Naruto started giggling.

_'A genin KOs a Kage with feminine charms. Priceless.'_ He looked down at the large scroll.

"'Scroll of Forbidden Seals', huh? Hey!" His eyes widened. "'As listed by the Yondaime Hokage?!'"

Naruto looked around before eagerly unclasping the string around the Scroll. The paper seal that also bound its contents flashed momentarily when Naruto's hand came into contact with it. He froze and began sweating, preparing for a gruesome death while mentally berating himself for his recklessness.

However, after several moments of nothing happening, he slowly unrolled it and began reading.

"_This scroll contains a compilation and explanation of potentially self-terminating techniques originating from Konohagakure, including seals invented by yours truly, Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage and Yellow Flash of Konoha._ Whoooa." Naruto stared at the words. He began a slow smile.

"Jackpot."

He started scanning the Scroll for something to catch his eye.

"…Let's see, let's see…'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'…Kage Bunshin? Another clone technique?" But he read the description anyway.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**, _A-rank technique, non-elemental. The user utilizes a special cross seal to channel not only his or her chakra into clones, but also "copies" his or her own consciousness into each clone created. As a result, these Shadow Clones are not mere illusions, but are actual bodily existences, capable of interacting with the world around them. Each clone is individually capable of unique thought processes, but when a Shadow Clone is dispersed, its conscious will transfer back to the original user's mind, allowing him or her to learn and feel everything the clone has gone through in its lifespan. A Shadow Clone can be dispersed by sending a pulse of chakra through a unique connection from user to copy, or by placing moderate damage on the clone. Note that each clone's resilience depends on the user and the amount of chakra used. Because chakra is divided amongst the host and clones, this technique can quickly lead to chakra exhaustion and even death. Potential risks of this technique also include, but are not limited to: mental overload and brain damage from information processing, insanity due to experiencing each clone's death, self-destructive tendencies due to mental instabilities, signs of multiple personality disorder, and so on and so forth_."

Naruto reread it a second time and whistled when he was done. He stared at the diagram of a cross seal and instructions on how to channel chakra and consciousness. "…Eh, what the hell." He stood up and formed the cross seal.

"At least this way…I definitely won't ever be completely alone."

And he began training.

* * *

"Dammit all, what the hell could he be…?" muttered Iruka in a slightly woozy voice. It had been two hours since he began searching and he was becoming seriously worried.

_'This damned pounding in my head isn't helping, either. Okay, think, Iruka. Where would Naruto be, if not the top of Yondaime's head, Ichiraku's, or even at the Academy? He definitely wouldn't leave the village and it looks like he wants to be hidden…a forest! He likes to relax in forests! But which one…there's forests everywhere in Konoha! What else does Naruto like…he likes to train! A training ground! A forest on a training ground! Okay…now which one; there are dozens!'_ Iruka paused and thought hard.

_'…Okay, screw it, let's go with some luck. 8 means sudden fortune or prosperity, and that's what I need right now!'_

He leapt off towards Training Ground Eight, one of the more vast but basic grounds, unaware that he was being followed.

Naruto lay panting heavily on the ground. His body felt a little numb from continual chakra expulsion, the result of many tries of forming Shadow Clones.

"Alright…let's look at another one!" He unfurled the Scroll. "Hmm…" One word caught his attention and sparked his memory.

_"Demon!"_

_"Demon child!"_

_"Go back to hell, you piece of—"_

He violently shook his head and read from the scroll. "_Shiki Fuuin_…and _Hakke Jouin_?"

"Naruto!"

The blond's head snapped up to look at the intruder, who landed in front of him.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei! I found you!"

"Baka! I'm the one who found you! And what the hell are you thinking?! Do you have any idea what you've done?! What that is?!"

"Yeah! It's got all sorts of cool jutsu! I even learned one of them while waiting for Mizuki-sensei! Wanna see?"

Iruka froze. "Why would you be waiting for Mizuki…?"

"Hm? Well, he's the one who made up the test. Has it been three hours yet? I better go and get this to hi—"

"Naruto, move!" The boy was suddenly thrown aside. As he landed, he heard several "thunk's," some of which sounded…softer? Naruto looked up in horror at Iruka's form; he had his head crouched and his arms guarding his chest, but at least half a dozen kunai were protruding from various places on his teacher's body.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto choked out, his mind working furiously to make sense of what the hell just happened.

"N-Naruto," gritted out Iruka in pain. "You…were d-deceived…by him!"

"Not bad reflexes, Iruka. I've always wondered why you're still just an instructor," came a sneering voice. Naruto turned to look to Mizuki, who was standing atop a large tree branch, twirling a kunai around his finger.

"M…Mizuki-sensei…?" Naruto trembled. "What…what the hell is going on here?!"

Mizuki began laughing, but there was none of the warmth it had earlier that day. "Oh come now, Naruto. I still can't believe you were that stupid, thinking there was such a test! How in the world could something like _you_ even come close to being 'specially selected by ANBU?'" Mizuki said mockingly before erupting in maniacal laughter again.

"You…you…lied to me?" Naruto began trembling in anger this time. "Why?! Tell me why, you bastard!" He felt a sharp pain on the side of his head. Then a warm trickling feeling ran down; Mizuki had flung the kunai at him, slicing the cloth of his hitai-ate along with his flesh. The metal plate hit the floor with a dull sound. Naruto reflexively put a hand to his head then stared at his blood, his fear growing.

"Why? Because you're not worthy of anything. Not even that forehead protector. Well, there is one truth you should be allowed to know…about yourself."

"Mizuki! Don't! It's forbidden!" Iruka screamed out while pulling out the kunai in his body.

_'Shit…I'm losing blood fast,'_ he thought dizzily. _'Too fast…shit…don't tell me…'_ Indeed, as he inspected one of the blades, it wasn't coated with just his blood.

Iruka looked up at Mizuki, who stared back and grinned with wicked triumph and without a hint of remorse in his crazed eyes. Betrayal settled like a stone in his stomach as he collapsed to his knees and realized just who helped him "recover" earlier.

_'Mizuki…my friend…why?!'_

"A shame, Iruka, that things had to end this way." Mizuki's malevolent tone made the words mocking and insincere. "Now, just sit there and die peacefully as I _enlighten_ this little monster."

"Don't tell him, Mizu—no…you traitorous son of a bitch!"

Naruto looked back and forth between them. "Wh-what? Tell me what?!"

Mizuki's smile became downright feral. "You were taught that the Kyuubi was killed fourteen years ago. This is a lie. A lie we were ordered to tell to anyone who didn't already know the truth, including many children and even your own classmates. You wanna know the truth, Naruto?"

He ignored Iruka's protests and reveled in Naruto's terror. He unhooked a fuuma shuriken.

"The truth is…the Kyuubi was actually sealed, Naruto. Sealed into a newborn, fourteen years ago. That newborn…is you! You, Naruto! You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the demon who attacked the village fourteen years ago! You are responsible for the deaths of so many people, ninja and civilians alike! You are responsible for the deaths of people like my baby sisters, people like Iruka's parents, people like the Yondaime Hokage! You're nothing, Naruto! Nothing but a murderer! A monster! An abomination that doesn't deserve to live! Now, DIE!" Mizuki screamed as he flung the large weapon at the frozen boy with all his strength and all his rage.

The words replayed themselves over and over again in Naruto's mind, constricting his body and soul, flooding him with icy darkness. He saw the shuriken flying towards him, slicing through the air to decapitate him, but he could not move. Naruto just closed his eyes, tears squeezing out, as the weapon screamed closer and closer and someone grabbed him—

"Nngaah…!"

Naruto found himself suddenly sitting on a different area, mildly disorientated until he tracked down the cry of pain.

"I…Iruka-sensei!"

"A reverse Kawarimi…?" came Mizuki's annoyed voice. "I didn't think he had the capability to do such a thing…"

Unfortunately, that was all Iruka had the capability for; he exerted practically all of his remaining energy and control on the tricky modified technique and collapsed to his knees.

Naruto stared in disbelieving horror at the sight of the fuuma protruding from his teacher's abdomen. Mizuki had thrown the weapon with enough force to penetrate the mesh of the chuunin's jacket by a few inches. Blood bubbled from Iruka's mouth as he turned his head towards the boy.

"N-Na-Naruto…it's t-true…the Kyuubi killed…m-my parents…I was an…orphan like y-you…" Naruto looked down in shame and wished the shuriken had just gone where it was supposed to go. "B-but…" Naruto looked up. "You…You're n-not the Kyuubi…you're j-just…just its container…I don't blame…blame you at all…to me…to me…you're just…Naruto…" Naruto began sobbing. "A-and…you're…g-going to be…the greatest…H-Hokage…of all…" And with that, Umino Iruka gave one last sigh, fell heavily over onto his side, and died.

"What a disgusting display. He was always too softhearted. Well, good thing I have another fuuma." Mizuki reached behind him to grasp the other shuriken.

"…Fuck you…"

The gray-haired man paused.

"…Fuck you, Mizuki…you…" he stared up, straight into Mizuki's eyes, crying, "you're the real monster here!" The boy's eyes flashed crimson briefly as he stood up into a battle stance and pulled out a kunai from his pouch.

Mizuki's smile became forced as his eyes glinted with rage and fear. "So you're going to take me on, _demon_? Fine." He folded the fuuma shuriken and held it like a makeshift claw. "I'm going to enjoy sending you back to hell."

He shot off the branch towards the genin, who ran forward to meet him, roaring in fury. However, Mizuki had the advantage, having propelled himself forward with a longer weapon in hand. He slammed the shuriken deep into Naruto's abdomen and knocked him to the ground. The victorious feeling was short-lived, however; Naruto's left hand suddenly flew up with incredible speed and yanked at Mizuki's hair, jerking his head and exposing the side of his neck, which Naruto drove the kunai into. Mizuki's eyes widened and he gurgled in pain, looking into Naruto's now crimson eyes.

"You're…going to hell first…Mizuki…" Naruto snarled weakly. He gripped the kunai tighter, and with all his might, pushed the kunai out through the back of Mizuki's neck, severing the spinal cord. He pushed Mizuki onto the ground beside him and lay there, staring at the starry sky. The edges of his vision grew with darkness and he felt blood escaping his body. "See you soon…Iruka-sensei…" He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

His abdomen flared in pain, causing him to cry out and convulse, but the feeling turned soothing, as though warm fur was running across his wound.

_**"****Not yet."**_

Naruto's eyes fluttered and he fell unconscious, exhausted.

* * *

_'It's wet,'_ was his first thought.

He was lying in warm water, staring at a dark ceiling with some pipes running along it. Naruto sat up and looked around. It was an equally dark hallway with more pipes.

_'Oookay…where the hell am I? Hell?'_ He stood and looked forward then looked behind him. _'…It's gotta be hell.'_

There was a faint growling sound coming from somewhere. Naruto spun around quickly. "What was that?!"

There was something else here. He could feel it.

And it felt…familiar.

Hesitantly, he began walking towards…whatever it was that he felt. The corridors split off in some directions, but he kept moving towards the feeling of warmth. It grew and grew until he made one more turn and froze. This doorway led to a massive room.

A massive room that contained a massive barred cage.

A massive barred cage that contained a massive set of crimson eyes.

"…I'm in hell," Naruto squeaked.

A set of razor sharp teeth appeared under the eyes. **"Not even close."** The voice was booming, commanding immediate respect and fear.

Naruto jumped at the sound, but…but he was not afraid. He moved closer.

"Who…what…"

And his eyes landed on a piece of paper on the doors in front of the beast. It read, "_Seal_."

He instantly made the connection. "K…Kyuubi no Youko…"

The monstrous smile grew wider. **"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly."**

Naruto paled as the meaning of the words sank in.

Okay, now he was a little afraid.

**"And here I thought you had a sense of humor,"** was the creature's dry reply.

Naruto just stared with his mouth slightly open, now feeling more dumbfounded than fearful due to the fact that a gigantic demon fox had just exhibited a bit of black humor at his expense.

"…Buh?"

**"…Sit down. We have a lot to discuss while you're healing."**

Naruto sat down but finally spoke up. "Healing? So I'm not dead?"

**"No, you're not dead. Otherwise, we'd both be fucked. Now, shut up and listen."**

He shut up and listened.

**"You've found out I got sealed into you. I—"**

Naruto woke up from his stupor at that point.

"That's right! You were sealed into me because you attacked the village! All those deaths…the Yondaime…and everything that happened to me…it was all because of you! This is all your fault! What the hell do you think—"

**"I said **_**silence**_**."** Kyuubi's rage flared with a hiss, choking off Naruto's words. **"I don't have any excuse for what happened, but who do you think **_**you**_** are to judge me? I'm saving your life, and both our souls right now, while trying to explain things, you miserable little fuck, so don't presume to act mightier than me!"**

But Naruto's self-righteous tirade wouldn't be stopped there.

"Hah!" he spat out. "I _am_ mightier than you! You're the one sealed inside me!"

The red eyes narrowed and the temperature dropped rapidly. The crimson orbs looked down to inspect the bars; they were wide enough for Naruto, but not convenient for paws or tails.

_**'****For now, anyway.'**_

**"…You're asking for this."**

The eyes disappeared, leaving Naruto bewildered.

'_Asking for wha—'_

Something red shot out from the cage at a rapid speed and wrapped around Naruto's neck, and pulled him through the bars. He was thrown down onto the floor face first and he quickly turned over so he wouldn't inhale water. A bridal gauntlet-covered hand grabbed his collar, lifted him up like a rag doll and slammed him against one of the bars. Naruto stared down into a crimson-eyed face in shock.

"You wanna say that again, you little pissant…? Go ahead, rub it in my face…"

Long, red-orange hair with fox ears peeking through it.

A smooth face with a small nose and three whisker marks below rounded cheekbones.

A red sleeveless, shortened yukata with patterns of flames and spirals that fanned out over snug black leggings.

Four fox tails flicking in annoyance.

_'What…the…fuck…'_

"Yeah, I'm female. You have a problem with that too?" She stared at him intensely, but Naruto didn't react. She huffed in disgust and frustration and threw him to the side.

Naruto sputtered as he moved to sit up. _'Why is everyone throwing me around, dammit?!'_

"Because you're short. This is all _your_ fault. Ten years of dormancy. Ten years _merging_ with your _human_ soul. Now I act like one! Not just any one human, but _you_. Because, yes, I'm sealed inside _you_. Now get over it, because this isn't going to change, gaki."

Naruto stared at the Kyuubi no Youko, who looked like a human woman no more than twenty-four years old. Well, except the fox ears and tails. And the eyes. And the fangs. And the claws. Was _she_ still Kyuubi if _she_ only had four tails?

"…I am most definitely in hell. They're trying to drive me into insanity." Kyuubi growled and slapped him over the head with one of her tails. "Ow! Alright! It's all real! Geez…wait, merging with my soul?"

"Oh good, I can explain now?" she snapped. "Yes, my soul, which the Fourth Hokage sealed into you, has been merging with your soul for the first ten years of your life. With me so far?"

Naruto nodded slowly. "So…we have the same soul now?"

Kyuubi paused and a thoughtful glance replaced her glaring visage. "Maybe merging isn't the correct term…our souls have been bleeding into each other, making them more compatible. It's the best way I can describe it."

"Okay, so we're more compatible. Or, at least our souls are. Why?"

"Lift up your shirt."

"E-eh? But…" Naruto flushed a little.

"…There is nothing about you I haven't seen before." Naruto flushed even more, but Kyuubi just ignored him, walked over, and pulled him to his feet roughly with two of her tails. She unzipped his jacket and yanked up the black T-shirt underneath. "By the way, I'm glad you had black added to the jacket, instead of just mostly orange. Makes you somewhat less of a target," she said dryly, to Naruto's chagrin.

Something clicked in his mind.

"It was you…"

The him-but-not-quite-him that influenced some of his thoughts and decisions.

She made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. "No, I wasn't possessing you," she murmured without looking up when he opened his mouth. "I didn't enforce what wasn't already there." After staring at his stomach, she pressed a finger to his navel. "I thought so; it should stay visible now."

Naruto looked down and gasped at the sight of a spiral seal around his navel with an arrangement of four symbol seals above it and four below it.

"Looks as though something else should've been here," she pointed to the blank sides of the seal array. "I'm fairly certain those were what kept me dormant for ten years. The trigrams around the seal look like they were designed to…purify and filter my chakra, for lack of a better term, so you could have access to it."

Naruto perked up. "Have access to it? I can use your chakra?"

His tenant nodded. "Because our souls have been bleeding into each other, your chakra coils have been developing at a much more accelerated rate than that of a normal chakra-using human's. As a result, your reserves are well above average and are designed to draw from my reserves should you ever run out of your own. Needless to say, I have quite a bit."

"…Freakin' awesome!"

"But it also means your control's shit." Naruto practically deflated. "There's a lot of chakra for you to use and control was never your strong suit," she smirked. "Don't worry, neither was it for me; one flick of a tail could create tsunamis and whatnot."

Naruto winced at her light tone.

"I have to say, the Fourth may have sealed me into you," Kyuubi grumbled slightly, "but he knew what he was doing. He tweaked the seal so it would specifically turn out like this. When you wake up, we need to find out more about it, and I'm betting the dear old geezer knows enough."

"Dear old geezer? Sandaime-ojii? Hey wait, why do we need to know more about it? So you can find a flaw in it to break out?!" Naruto yelled defensively.

Kyuubi just stared at him flatly. "Tempting, but surprise, gaki: no. Having part of a human's soul means having human emotions," she scowled.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. "You don't have to make it sound like it's such a bad thing."

"It is. Do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is for a demon to feel something like, say, guilt?"

"Guilt?" Naruto tilted his head. "You feel guilty? About what?"

She glared at him then mimicked Naruto's voice. "'Everything that happened to me, it's all your fault, waah, waah, waah.' Well, congratulations, I now feel like I have an obligation to you. Damn your sense of honor," she sneered.

He bristled. "Yeah, well, if you didn't decide to have a bitch-fit fourteen years ago, we wouldn't be he—"

_'Why am I flying…?'_ he briefly wondered before bouncing on the wet floor twice and rolling into an undignified heap.

"I do not throw bitch-fits, smartass," Kyuubi stated calmly as though she didn't just give her host a love-tap with one of her tails.

"Guh…cheap shot, you damn fox…"

"Oh, quit whining. What happened to all your spunk?"

"It's a little much to take in, you know!" he cried indignantly. "Mizuki betrayed me, told me about you, I find out I'm sharing souls with you, and Iruka-sensei…" His tirade lost steam. "Iruka-sensei…he's gone…"

The Kyuubi no Youko winced slightly. _'Perhaps I should have employed a little more tact.'_ She didn't quite know what to do or say about his melancholy; several phrases and actions came to mind, but none of them seemed right, so she opted to stay silent instead.

After a moment, he shook his head, pushing it aside and insisting that now was not the time to be vulnerable. "…And to top it all off, you're a _girl_."

"A _woman_," she corrected, feeling a little relieved the subject had changed. "Like I said, you got a problem with it? I wouldn't think so, since you spent hours staring into the women's hot springs to gather 'information' about that jutsu you used earlier today. And you call the old man a closet pervert. Hypocrite," she scoffed.

Naruto had the decency to blush. "Well…I never said I wasn't one."

"…Point taken."

He looked around. "So, am I completely healed yet?"

"Yes, but you're recovering from exhaustion; you did spend more than two hours learning that jutsu. Which reminds me, I have a…," her face soured a little, "…_request_ regarding it."

Naruto looked at her in surprise. "A request? From you?"

Kyuubi frowned. "Don't rub it in. Fine, think of it as a demand for fair trade. Since I provide you with a crapload of chakra, as you put it, keep you from dying, which I must say is pretty useful, and provide you with enlightenment, you're honor-bound to allow me a few things."

"Such as…?" he asked warily.

"Freedom," she said quite simply. His reaction was immediate.

"Hell no! You're not getting out of here and doing gods know what to the rest of the world! I don't even have a clue on how the seal works! Wait…no! You're not possessing me either!" Naruto clutched his head tightly, as though trying to protect it from invasion.

The corners of Kyuubi's lips twitched. "Relax, baka. You should really trust me a little; if I wanted to possess you, I would've already killed you in this mindscape and forced my conscious to override yours."

Maybe she enjoyed scaring him a little too much; a serene smile graced her face as he moved to scramble back a little.

"Besides," she continued, "I can't do much with your puny body; I'd need my own, but obviously, that's not possible. And once again, thanks to you, I have human emotions, not just demonic tendencies. No, what I'm proposing involves the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu you've just taught yourself. It says you have to clone and transfer your conscious into a clone, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"What I want is for you to transfer my conscious into a Shadow Clone whenever I want you to." Before Naruto could object, she went on by saying, "You can disperse the clone whenever you want, if you feel the need to, and it's not my original body to begin with. Of course, I wouldn't want to look like you," she sneered, causing Naruto to turn his nose up at her. "So you'd have to Henge the body of the clone."

"So if you're not going to…follow demonic tendencies, why this?" he asked, pensive.

She gave him a withering look. "I've been trapped in here for fourteen years, ten of which I spent resting as our souls exchanged traits, and the rest of which I spent the majority assimilating all your memories and experiences. Is it too much to ask to breathe in fresh air and walk on the earth, however briefly?"

Naruto had a look of slight shame and nodded his agreement. A few seconds later though, he gave a sly grin. "Technically, I could Henge you into whatever I want…"

Kyuubi glared at him with enough force to make his grin falter, and she strode over menacingly. "Either you transform the clone into a body of my choosing, or I will give you such a headache, your brains will trickle out from your ears."

Naruto laughed a little nervously and waved his hand dismissively. "Just kidding, just kidding!"

An awkward silence fell between them.

She noted the environment they were standing in didn't change despite his joking.

Naruto followed her gaze and sniffed in disdain. "It's dinky in here."

"This is your doing, you know. Your mindscape reflects your perceptions and feelings. This cage is a cage because that's how you view the seal," she sounded bitter, "and it's gloomy and dinky because deep down, that's how you're feeling."

Naruto looked a little apologetic, but then stared down. _'Iruka-sensei…'_

"…I'm…sorry for your loss," she said roughly. "…And everything that's happened to you thus far."

He closed his eyes and lifted his head, smiling. "These things happen…"

"…I'm a part of you. You can't bullshit me." Naruto froze and quickly looked to the side. Kyuubi sighed mentally. _'Fucking human emotions.'_ She reached over slowly and placed a hand on the blond's head.

Naruto stiffened even more and tears began to escape his eyes. He wanted to cry out, scream, rage, maybe even embrace the figure in front of him, and voice his frustrations and pain. But he just stood there, crying silently with a clawed hand on his head, taking deep, shuddering breaths.

Kyuubi felt her eyes softening, glad Naruto wasn't looking. _'I can feel your pain. I suppose it's a good thing I don't know how to cry.'_ She stroked her hair a miniscule amount. _'There will be more suffering for you. But you will become stronger. You have no choice. That's who and what you are.'_

After several moments, Naruto wiped his eyes viciously and took a long, cleansing breath. Kyuubi let her hand slip off and watched him open his shining cerulean eyes.

"Thanks," he mumbled awkwardly, looking into her eyes. Kyuubi made another noncommittal noise and looked up.

"It's almost time for you to wake up, gaki; someone's calling you." She stopped when the mindscape began to ripple. She looked down at Naruto, who had closed his eyes and looked like he was concentrating hard. He was taking more long, deep breaths, and then their surroundings changed. Instead of dark hallways riddled with pipes, it became a deep forest with a gray sky. The caged doors had disappeared but on each tree, the word "seal" was etched into the bark. A small amount of shock escaped into Kyuubi's eyes as she looked around.

"That's…the best I can do for now," muttered Naruto, who looked sleepy. "Feels like I'm waking up." He began closing his eyes, missing Kyuubi's look of gratitude.

"…See you later…Naruto."

And her vessel rose to consciousness.

* * *

"Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun, can you hear me?"

The boy muttered groggily and opened his eyes a bit in the direction of the voice. The sight of the Sandaime Hokage greeted him, and Naruto instantly sat up.

"Sandaime-ojii!" He looked around quickly. He was alone with the Hokage in a hospital room. _'I hate these walls,'_ he thought in the back of his mind. "How long have I been out? Mizuki, he…and…Iruka-sensei…and the Scroll—!"

"Calm yourself, Naruto. I know everything that transpired tonight," the old man spoke heavily.

Naruto felt a fresh wave of pain thinking of Iruka, but he also felt a little apprehensive and clutched his abdomen.

The Sandaime misinterpreted. "Your wound has closed; you have amazing healing abilities, Naruto-kun." Naruto thought he heard a scoff somewhere, but he focused on the Sandaime, who continued, "After you had taken the Scroll, I sent Iruka after you, then used a special concentrated chakra relic to glimpse where you were. I rushed over immediately once I recognized the area, but when I got there…I thought you had died as well." He sighed heavily when Naruto concentrated on his sheets. "I regret sending Iruka after you, Naruto. I should have gone after you myself; you should not have witnessed such a thing."

"He…Iruka-sensei…he died protecting me…"

The old man placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Yes, he did. He cared about you a great deal and I'm sure he didn't regret laying down his life for you. You were more than just his student. I believe…you were like a younger brother to him…maybe even like a son at times." Naruto shut his eyes tightly, trying not to cry again. "I am so sorry, Naruto. I understand if you'll never forgive me for this."

Naruto sniffled and shook his head. "No…you have nothing to be sorry for, Sandaime-ojii. Mizuki killed him, not you. You were doing what you had to as a Hokage, even though it doesn't always turn out the way we want."

The Third gave a bittersweet smile. _'So young, and he knows what it means to be the leader of this village. He really will be a great Hokage someday.'_

"And it's all my fault for taking that scroll in the first place…"

"Naruto!"

The boy jumped at the elder man's sharp tone. For a moment, it was no longer the kindly old man consoling him, but the Hokage, leader of the village, commanding him.

"I will not have you thinking like that. You may have made poor choices, but you were deceived by someone whom we all trusted. You did not directly cause Iruka's death, and you will not sully his memory by believing that. Is that understood?"

"H-hai, Hokage-sama," the blond murmured, looking downwards. There was a rustle of cloth and he found himself wrapped in the Sandaime's arms and the scent of smoke and dried leaves.

After a few moments of somber comfort, Naruto wiped his eyes and looked at the grandfatherly man. "When's…when's Iruka-sensei's funeral?"

"There will be a quiet ceremony tomorrow after the genin teams are selected."

Naruto nodded and took a deep breath. "Ojii, can we go to your office? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Sandaime looked a little puzzled.

"It, ah, has to do with," he dropped it to an almost incoherent mumble, "what Mizuki-yarou told me."

The Hokage's face betrayed nothing, but he nodded and then looked worriedly at him.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm fine, ojii, really. I heal fast, remember?"

With that, he leapt off the bed, landed without hitch and grinned at the old man.

Sandaime smiled back and went to take care of Naruto's discharge from the hospital, while Naruto looked for a fresh set of clothes. There was a pile of new clothes on the table beside the bed with a new hitai-ate and a note of top of them.

"_Congratulations on your first step on becoming Hokage. From the Sandaime._"

Naruto gave a heartfelt smile. He had to buy the old man some ramen someday. He unfolded the clothes, inspected them and put them on.

There was a black T-shirt and the jacket looked like his old one: orange with twin black stripes running from the shoulders down to the arms, but it had four hidden pockets inside and the sleeves were loose instead of tight cuffs. The pants were black training pants with thick orange stripes running down the sides of his legs. All three felt as though there was mesh interwoven between the heavy but breathable fabric. There were also a pair of new ninja sandals, but these were black, not his usual blue.

Checking himself in the mirror, he nodded his approval and ran out of the room to meet the Sandaime at the main entrance.

After thanking the old man profusely, they made their way to the Hokage's office. As the door closed, Naruto spoke up. "Um…I don't want us to be interrupted."

The Hokage chuckled. "Are you going to incapacitate me again, Naruto-kun?" he joked, causing Naruto to scratch his head embarrassedly, but he walked over to a spot on the wall next to the door and pressed his hand against a hidden seal. There was a pulse of energy that ran all around throughout the walls and windows. "There. The door can't be opened from the outside, the windows only see one way outwards, and the walls are absolutely soundproof." He turned serious. "Why this much privacy?"

Naruto gulped, then looked the Hokage dead in the eye while forming a cross seal. "Because, Sandaime-ojii…" _'I hope this works,'_ he thought, visualizing separating Kyuubi's presence and the appearance of the clone. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" There was a rush of chakra and a feeling that part of his being escaped, and a plume of smoke appeared.

The Third Hokage didn't know what to be more shocked about: the fact that a genin used a forbidden A-rank technique, the fact that said genin had not only did Kage Bunshin perfectly and also threw in a Henge variation, or the fact that the Kage Bunshin had the appearance of a beautiful adult female with fox ears, four tails, and blood-red eyes.

"…You have a lot to explain," finished Naruto, his heart rate speeding.

The Kyuubi no Youko gave a wicked and humorless smile. "Indeed you do, old man. Did you miss me?"

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

osu - "hey" or "yeah"

baka - idiot

dobe - dead last

shannaro - an exclamation of great excitement that can be positive or negative depending on context ("hell yeah!" versus "hell no!")

gaki - brat, young punk

Sandaime-ojii - roughly "old man Third"

Kyuubi no Youko - Nine Tails Demon Fox

Mokuton - Wood Release

Suiton - Water Release

Ninpou - Ninja Technique

Bunshin no Jutsu - Replication Technique

Kawarimi no Jutsu - Replacement Technique

Henge no Jutsu - Transformation Technique

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Replication Technique

* * *

**Author's Note:** Not many changes to this chapter. Yes, Iruka had to die. It was necessary. Yes, I insist that my version of the Kyuubi is a woman. Mythology depicts kitsune commonly transforming into beautiful women after all.

A major change, some will note, is the presence of just four tails on our Kyuubi. No, she is not a tenko, and I haven't seen a reliable source of mythology that states a celestial fox holds four tails after losing five. However, it's ironic that this Kyuubi mimics divinity after being tainted by humanity. I mainly wanted to impose a limit upon her; if the number of tails are a measure of a kyuubi's power (note I say a kyuubi, not a Bijuu), and getting sealed caused her power to be divvied up. That doesn't mean Naruto has five tails' worth of power. It doesn't even necessarily mean he has four. He won't even be able to access it easily for a while. I'm taking care not to have any game breakers in my story.

* * *

**Omake: Doodoodoo-doo-doo-doodoo-doo!**

This doorway led to a massive room.

A massive room that contained...a dangerous-looking woman.

Naruto backpedaled and formed a Kage Bunshin to back him up, even though he really should've thought about just how he could do Kage Bunshin in this place.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he demanded.

The woman just smiled. "Hello, Naruto." She pointed at his doppelganger. "Look at your clone."

Despite himself, he did so.

"Now back to me."

Turn.

"Now back at your clone."

Turn.

"Now back to me."

Turn.

"Sadly, you're not me," she said simply. "But if you stopped using that pathetic human chakra and start using mine, you could kick ass like me."

"Wha—"

"Look down."

He did.

"Back up."

He did.

"Where are you?"

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off without missing a beat.

"You're in a seal with the fox you wish you could be like."

"Fo— Wait, what the shit—"

"What's in your hand?"

Naruto looked down at his empty palm.

"Back at me. I have it."

The woman was holding a large and wildly spiraling sphere of visible blue chakra. Strangely enough, there was the Hokage's hat in the middle. Even stranger, it was just suspended in there remaining intact.

"It's a Rasengan with that thing you want," she explained.

"…" He blinked when furious purple flames began spinning inside and around it.

"Look again. Now it's being channeled with foxfire. Anything is possible when you're less like a human and more like a kitsune."

She promptly dispelled the sphere, took out a leaf from gods-know-where, and put it to her forehead. A metric fuckton of smoke obscured the area, causing Naruto to reflexively close his eyes.

When he could see again, he realized he was looking at a lot of red-orange fur. A _lot _of fur. His gaze traveled upward to more fur, more fur, _holy shit those were some huge teeth_.

**"I'm the Kyuubi no Youko,"** the giant vixen rumbled.

His Kage Bunshin spontaneously combusted.


	4. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

_'I need a vacation,'_ was the Sandaime's immediate thought. _'Maybe I can have Enma take me to the Water Curtain Cave.'_

Despite the lack of killer demonic chakra, and for that, the old man was very grateful, there was no doubt that this was the Kyuubi no Kitsune standing in front of him with an amused smirk on her, _her_, visage.

_'_…_Yes, a vacation seems to be in order. A few months at least, I think…'_

Naruto was just looking back and forth between the two, feeling a little more than apprehensive.

"How much do you know about the seal, old man?" Kyuubi demanded, getting right into matters. "We already know that the seal allows the boy to use my chakra and that it forced our souls to merge somewhat. I want to know why. Why did that human go through all this trouble for a demon?"

The Third Hokage sighed as though a great weight was lifting off his shoulders. He walked to his desk, sat down, reached into his robes and took out a pipe. Naruto and Kyuubi watched somewhat impatiently as the aged ninja lit his pipe and took a long drag. After blowing out the smoke, he looked to Naruto.

"Naruto, you are what we call a jinchuuriki."

The teen blinked. "The power of human sacrifice?"

"Indeed, but the Yondaime didn't want to view it as a sacrifice. There have been few jinchuuriki since the appearance of the Bijuu, and none of them were exactly shining examples."

He took another puff.

"Traditionally, it was viewed as a curse. It was a means to bind a Bijuu's soul to a human's, in hopes that when the human died, so would the Bijuu's soul. However, not until the Yondaime, every instance of sealing and binding a demon failed disastrously. Hosts would go insane as the demons overpowered their minds, or their souls would be forcefully expelled or destroyed by a Bijuu's, or the sealing would not be powerful enough."

He turned to look at Kyuubi this time.

"The Yondaime focused on the origin of Bijuu and came to the conclusion that he could create a jinchuuriki that was harmonious with the Bijuu within. To do this, he proposed that it was the _Bijuu_ that was missing a piece of the puzzle."

"Humanity," Kyuubi grumbled.

"That is correct," the old man smiled softly. "A being of earth infused with the power of divinity, but lacking the soul of a human."

He turned back to Naruto, who was captivated.

"The capacity of a human soul is limitless, Naruto. But in order for this unprecedented notion to work, the Yondaime needed a soul that had the greatest capacity to accept: the soul of a newborn."

The Hokage gave such a look of pain that he looked positively ancient.

"We did not want to, Naruto. The Yondaime especially; he cursed his discoveries, but in the end, we knew we had no choice. You were chosen by the Yondaime to bear his legacy. He held great regret for his decision, but it paled in comparison to the hope he had for you, Naruto."

Naruto stared in awe and looked towards the portrait of the Fourth, which had a serene smile on his face.

Kyuubi narrowed her eyes. "You've been leaving something out about him, old man. About him and the boy."

Naruto turned around to witness the Third's wince. "What now?" Naruto exclaimed. He was seriously getting pissed off at all the mysteries.

Kyuubi scoffed. "Naruto, I know you're not exactly sharp, but you're not a total loss either. Look closer at the picture."

Naruto turned back to the Yondaime's picture. He focused on the man's serene smile, his wild blond hair, his eyes that were like a warm, cloudy sky…blond hair and blue eyes…

_'No…no way…'_

"You probably knew all along, Naruto," he heard Kyuubi say softly. "It was probably too hard for you to face and accept."

"Namikaze Minato," spoke the Sandaime in a thick voice. "Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage…was your father, Naruto-kun."

And Naruto found that he really wasn't all that surprised. The similarities were uncanny; even he acknowledged that the very first time he saw the portrait of the Yondai—of his father. Naruto found that Kyuubi was right; he knew all along, he just didn't want to accept it, because once he did…

_'He…my dad…he sacrificed himself for everyone. For me. He sealed Kyuubi into me.' _Naruto was caught between pride for his father, outrage at what he had done to his own son, relief that he knew who his father was, and overwhelming sadness.

"And…my mother?" he inquired quietly.

"She was a powerful self-exiled kunoichi from Uzu no Kuni. Her journeys brought her here to Konoha where she met your father." Here, the Hokage couldn't help but laugh. "She and your father hit it off immediately; they both got on each other's nerves as soon as they bumped into each other." His eyes were distant and his smile died. "Her name was Uzumaki Kushina. Unfortunately…she died during childbirth. The whole situation that day put too much stress on her and her body couldn't take the strain."

Naruto felt hollow. "…I see." He turned around and looked at the Hokage with tears in his eyes. "You'll have to tell me more about them someday, ojii."

"Of course, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded his thanks. "This is way too much to take in during one day." He looked out the window. It had to be sometime after three in the morning. "…If you two don't mind, I'd like to go home and rest up some more."

The Sandaime and Kyuubi exchanged glances.

She turned to Naruto and shrugged. _'There's something else missing here…but it can wait.'_

She moved for the door, as did Naruto. "Before we leave, make sure you either dispel me or change my appearance. We don't need excessive attention."

Naruto almost forgot about that fact. He looked at the Hokage. "Thanks for your time and everything, Sandaime-ojii."

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun. And once again, I'm sorry for everything."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't apologize if it's not directly your fault, ojii." He grinned. "I can't wait to get into a team tomorrow." He Henge'd Kyuubi into a red-orange one-tailed fox who gave him a withering glance, but leapt and burrowed herself in his jacket.

The old man chuckled in response and a small part of him wished he had a camera. "You're on your way to greatness, Naruto. Take care of each other." He released the privacy seals and bid them good night.

After they left, Hiruzen sat back and sighed yet again. He looked through his desk for some documents and found what he was looking for. "Let's see here…Uzumaki, Uzumaki…ah. Team Seven. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura, led by Hatake Kakashi. Oh my, this will be interesting."

Funny how the universe worked.

* * *

Naruto didn't say a word on the way back to his apartment, nor did he when he entered his small abode. As soon as he closed the door, he moved towards his bed and Kyuubi leapt out from his jacket. He Henge'd her back into her human form, then fell back onto his bed with a soft plop.

"You should really clean the place up." Naruto gave a noncommittal grunt in reply. "…Bad thing about being in this clone: I can't read your mind."

"…I feel like I just got run over by a horde of Sasuke's fangirls."

"…That bad, huh?"

"Yeah."

A small silence. "You should get some sleep. You get sorted into teams tomorrow around what? Nine?"

"Yeah." Naruto slid off and sat onto the floor, his back against the mattress. He took off his jacket. Kyuubi blinked, confused. He looked up at her. "You take the bed. I don't think you'd wanna go back into the seal to sleep."

Kyuubi blinked again and she couldn't keep a stunned expression off her face. "It's…it's fine," she faltered a little, much to her chagrin. "I don't exactly need sleep."

Naruto shrugged and closed his eyes, laying his head back. He draped the jacket over himself. "Just in case you want to. At the very least, I won't send you back into the seal. Night." He tried to let his mind wander away from the events of the whole day so he could fall asleep as quickly as possible.

Kyuubi just continued looking at him in astonishment. He was being considerate of her predicament because of their conversation earlier. But as she noticed the stress lines on Naruto's young face, she realized there was an underlying request as well.

She got on the creaking mattress and pulled the blanket over her, even though she really didn't need it. Still, it was something she had never experienced for herself before. The materials of the bed and blanket were far from luxurious, but it was warm and had Naruto's scent all over it; the scent of a strong summer breeze with a hint of ramen. Kyuubi's lips twitched, and she hesitantly lay on her side, reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's head, who froze at the contact. "…You'll never be alone."

Naruto shuddered a little and nodded jerkily. He took a deep breath and all the tension left his body.

* * *

_"You're…going to hell first…" I snarl weakly, but my lips can't help but twitch upwards in vindictive glee. I close my eyes and savor the feeling of my kunai sinking hilt-deep in his neck before twisting it viciously and pushing it out._

_A rush of pleasure courses through my body at how easy it was to tear through the flesh and slice through the bone and how incredibly satisfying it was to seize his life with my own hands._

_His spinal cord severed, Iruka-sensei falls forward with the light in his fear-filled eyes fleeing—_

* * *

Naruto jerked violently awake, prompting Kyuubi to do the same in an adrenaline-filled baring of fangs and claws. As the boy rushed to the bathroom, she took in her situation and regained her wits just as retching sounds began to echo. A frown crossed her features and she moved towards her host. He was panting heavily, hunched over the toilet, and gripping the rim so tightly that she vaguely wondered if the crack in the porcelain had always been there.

She looked away to hide the increasing concern that was surely beginning to show on her face and also because she knew Naruto wouldn't appreciate his vulnerability being watched. Her jaw tightened slightly in annoyance as she tried to come up with something useful to say.

"…You want some water?"

A low groan was followed by a tight "…Yeah, please."

She made her way into the cramped kitchen, grabbed a glass out of one of the cabinets, and filled it from the tap before returning to the teen. Naruto straightened up a bit before taking it gratefully and drinking it slowly.

After setting the nearly empty glass on the bathroom counter, he looked up and murmured, "Thanks."

The Kyuubi only nodded in reply.

"…So uh…good morning," he quipped with false cheer.

She raised an eyebrow and sniffed in disdain while looking pointedly at the contents of the toilet bowl. "Is it really?" she drawled.

Naruto gave a derisive laugh and quickly pressed down on the plunger. "I'm guessing eggs for breakfast is out of the question?"

"You don't even have eggs, you ramen junkie."

"Hey, I eat other stuff besides ramen on occasion!"

"Really? All these years, you practically bleed the damn broth."

"Maybe I should've turned that forest of yours into a pit of ramen instead."

"Sure, change the reflection of your mind and the seal into something I can consume. Why don't you stop and think about that for a second?"

Naruto actually did ponder that for a moment or two, and then his eyes crossed a bit as a result. The humanoid vixen just rolled her eyes, quickly reached for the glass, and dumped the remaining contents on his head. He sputtered and glared up at her.

"Better?" she asked, deadpan.

"Hmph," he replied with as much dignity as he could. "…A little."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Now you can get moving. It's already eight-thirty-something." She turned around and exited the bathroom so he could freshen up, but she didn't need to see to know he was sticking his tongue out at her before closing the door.

After several minutes, Naruto came out. "Shall we go?"

"You're not going to dispel me?" She was curious about his apparent kindness and how he could manage a Kage Bunshin for this long.

_'Maybe it's just easier when it's another consciousness inhabiting it. Or maybe he channeled a lot of chakra into this clone. Or a combination of both.'_

"Nah. Unless you wanna go back?"

"No, but," she gestured to her current form. "We need a slight change."

"Oh, right." A hand seal later and she was enveloped in smoke, which revealed her fox form. She made a bark of annoyance before she leapt onto Naruto's shoulder as he put on his jacket and walked out the door.

* * *

The air in the Academy was heavy and somber. It only got worse when Naruto entered his classroom. Everyone turned to stare at him as he walked through the doorway.

_'I like attention, but not this kind,' _he thought bitterly. As Naruto walked up the stairs to his seat, he heard the whispers as though they were proclaimed over a loudspeaker.

"…heard he was there…"

"…Mizuki…Iruka-sensei…murdered…"

"…have no idea why he was even there…"

"…Dobe." The blond's head shot up at Sasuke's voice, and the whole class went silent. Naruto's jaw tightened and he prepared to lash out, but stopped when he looked into Sasuke's onyx eyes. There was some unidentifiable emotion in the Uchiha's eyes, to which Naruto returned a perplexed look. Then, Sasuke gave a very slight nod of his head and Naruto understood.

_'He's…he's offering his condolences…in his own weird way.'_ Flashes of memories ran through Naruto's head. _'Because…he also knows what it's like to lose a loved one…'_ Naruto dipped his head slightly in return.

_'Thanks, teme.'_

_'Anytime, dobe.'_

Kyuubi chose this moment to make herself known. Sasuke watched in utter bewilderment as a bulge appeared in Naruto's jacket and moved upwards. A fox's head popped up from the collar and barked. Sasuke let out a strangled surprised yell and reflexively moved back, but the majority of his foot was off the edge of the step. He grimaced and tried to correct his balance, but overcompensated and began falling forward. Kyuubi's eyes widened, and she quickly jumped out of Naruto's jacket and landed on the table above.

It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Or a natural disaster. Or the apocalypse.

Twin "mmphf"s and a chorus of gasps rose, along with a series of yips that sounded like laughter.

"Everyone, please take your sea—"

The Sandaime Hokage thought he was hallucinating when he walked into the room; Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were lip-locked with equally horrified expressions on their faces, and there was a fox laughing.

_'Have I finally lost it?'_ he wondered dazedly.

Both boys' bodies finally obeyed their mental processes and got the hell away from each other, choking and spitting violently. There was laughter from some people, groans of disgust from others, a wolf whistle from Kiba, and cries of murderous outrage from the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club, led by Sakura and Ino.

Naruto and Sasuke settled for giving each other death glares.

The Third Hokage chuckled and cleared his throat. "Everyone, please sit down now."

There was a chorus of "Hai, Hokage-sama," the scraping of chairs, and a shuffling of bodies before attentive silence. The Sandaime adopted a look of utmost seriousness.

"I am here today to help sort you new genin into your teams of three, because, as you no doubt have heard by now, the village of Konoha lost a respected and noble man last night." He paused. "Umino Iruka gave up his life in order to protect one of his treasured students from a renegade ninja driven to insanity with thoughts of power and revenge. The Will of Fire burned brightly in Iruka's life, and it was his hope and dream to help pass it on to all of you. As you all live your lives as ninja of Konoha, remember all that Iruka has taught you. Remember the Will of Fire." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, as did everyone else.

After moments of respectable silence, the Sandaime spoke up again. "Now, I will sort you into your teams. Later this evening, there will be a small funeral procession here for Iruka at the Academy. Anyone is welcome to come and pay their respects." With that, the old Hokage reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll. "I will first announce your team number, then the three members of each team. Please remain seated until I am finished.

Team One: Machikawa Ichiro, Asahara Ayaka, and Douzen Kai.

Team Two: Nishimono Mai, Tayako Takaji, and Urae Cho.

Team Three: Sukima Yukari, Hanagami Yuuka, and Yuurei Mima…"

Naruto let his mind roam as he stroked Kyuubi's fur absentmindedly. _'I wonder who I'll be paired up with…meh. I can deal with anybody here. Who do I _want_ to be paired up with? Hmm…'_

"Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi: Uzumaki Naruto…"

The blond perked up at the mention of his name.

"…Haruno Sakura…"

Sakura groaned, and Naruto winced.

_'The annoying dead last. Shannaro.'_

_'The abusive fangirl. Dammit.'_

"…and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto groaned, Sasuke winced, and Sakura squealed. In the background, Ino gave a cry of indignation.

_'Teme. With the fangirl.'_

_'Dobe. With the fangirl.'_

_'Sasuke-kuuun! It's the power of love, shannaro!'_

Kyuubi glanced at all three. _'Oh, this is gonna be good.'_

After the twelve teams were sorted out and the Hokage left, the teams began trickling out with their respective senseis. For an hour after the last team left, the members of Team Seven remained in silence with Naruto and Sasuke glaring at each other, Sakura alternating between shooting dirty looks at Naruto and nervous ones at Sasuke, and Kyuubi just remaining vigilant on Naruto's desk.

Finally, Sasuke spoke up. "What really happened, dobe?"

Naruto blinked, Kyuubi stirred and Sakura looked at Sasuke curiously. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me." He narrowed his onyx eyes. "Last night. What really happened?"

"What do you mean, teme?" Naruto demanded, a little unnerved.

"They say it all took place at Training Ground Eight. Past that a ways is the Forest of Death, one of the most dangerous grounds of Konoha. If Mizuki had been escaping the village, why go towards that direction? Also, you're telling me you just happened to be there so late after midnight? What were you doing, training?"

"Maybe I was. It is a training ground after all," Naruto replied defensively.

_'Damn the fact his clan were also a police force. Sharp bastard. What am I supposed to say? "Yeah, I'm the one who stole the Scroll in the first place and got Iruka-sensei killed because of it?" Yeah, that'd go over real well.'_

"Who knows what Mizuki was thinking, anyway? Maybe he went towards there because he'd be harder to track." He looked down towards Kyuubi, who was watching Sasuke, and was struck by inspiration. "If you really wanna know, teme, I was looking for my pet fox here." It was Sasuke's turn to blink, and Kyuubi turned her head to shoot Naruto a dirty look.

Sakura entered the conversation. "What's with that fox anyway? I mean, he's adorable, but where'd you get him?" It certainly was odd; most of the people of Konoha weren't exactly fond of foxes. She jumped a little when the fox gave an angry bark.

"Yes, dobe, I don't recall you having a fox for a pet."

Naruto leaned forward to scoop up Kyuubi, then looked up to stick his tongue out at the Uchiha. "I found _her_, not him, fairly recently." Sakura flushed slightly at her mistake. "It's not like you've been keeping tabs on me, teme." Naruto had the satisfaction of seeing Sasuke tighten his jaw before he huffed and looked away.

Sakura jumped up to her beloved's defense. "Hey, it's not like Sasuke-kun doesn't have more important things to deal with than someone like you! That's your parents' job!" Naruto turned to stick his tongue out at her this time, but it didn't do anything about the annoyance and hurt he felt.

Sasuke, however, whipped his head around in Sakura's direction. "Shut up, Sakura. You're annoying," he half-snarled. The pink-haired girl was stunned at the loathing look in his eyes and stumbled back, falling to the floor.

Naruto, too, was surprised at Sasuke's outburst. He stared at the other boy, who had turned to face the opposite wall and was attempting to burn a hole into it with his glare, then to Sakura, who looked ready to burst into tears. He looked down at Kyuubi, who stared back at him with disapproval in her eyes, and sighed.

_'Hell of a team we're going to make.'_ Naruto attempted to rectify the situation.

"Oi, teme, tone it down. She didn't know any better." Sasuke just scoffed, but Naruto moved towards Sakura, who looked up. He extended his hand. "My parents…died fourteen years ago," he said softly. Sakura cringed and opened her mouth to apologize, but Naruto just gave one of his foxy grins. "Don't. Like I said, you didn't know. Sasuke-teme's just got a huge stick up his ass." Sakura didn't know whether to smile at Naruto's infectious, happy-go-lucky look, or frown at her mistake and his comment towards Sasuke. She settled for smiling weakly and put her hand in Naruto's, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. Naruto nodded at her and turned to look at Sasuke. "Look, we're supposed to be a team now. It's not even our first real day together and we're doing our enemies' jobs for them!" he quipped lightly.

Sasuke relaxed somewhat. "Hmph. Guess even the dobe can have a moment of intelligence from time to time."

"Oi, what'd you just say?! Come say it to my face!"

"Even if I did, I still don't think it'll reach down there."

"Wha…oh, funny. A short joke, huh?! That's it, you prick, I'm kicking your ass right here!"

"Don't strain yourself trying."

Naruto growled in frustration and leapt at him, Kyuubi jumping off in the nick of time. Sakura giggled at the sight of the two boys tussling. _'Maybe…this will work out alright.'_

The door suddenly slid open. A tall, silver-haired man in a mask stared at the three impassively with one eye; his left one was covered up by his hitai-ate. The two boys had frozen in the middle of their struggle with Sasuke astride on Naruto with his fist raised. Sakura was staring at the newcomer with a look of bewilderment, and Kyuubi was returning the impassive gaze.

The man spoke, slightly muffled through his mask. "My first impression of you guys…you're all punks." He looked at the boys, who were fuming slightly at his remark. "My second impression…you two need to get a room." His eye crinkled as he smiled at the sight of their eyes widening, and they fought to get away from each other. "Meet me on the rooftop. Ja!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Showoff," muttered Sakura as they all moved to the door and made their way up to the roof and their new sensei.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi watched as his potential students sat down across from him warily. "You guys are slow," he quipped.

"You're the one who was late!" yelled the blond.

"Ah, I was? Sorry, sorry. I lost my way on the road of life." The jounin gave another eye-smile.

All three stared at him with the same exact thought: _'What kind of excuse is that?!'_

"So," he said next, "before we begin, tell me a little about yourselves. Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, whatever."

"Um…sensei? Why don't you go first?" Sakura asked hesitantly. "We don't even know who you are."

"Me? Sure. My name's Hatake Kakashi. I have no likes or dislikes. As for my dream…well, you're too young to know about that. Okay, who's next?"

Again, all three shared the same thought: _'All we learned was his name?!'_

Naruto shook his head and waved his hand in the air. "Me, me!" Kakashi nodded. "I'm Uzu...maki Naruto!"

They all raised an eyebrow at the stumble, but he continued verbally plowing through.

"I like ramen, learning new jutsu, and pranking! I don't like waiting for ramen to cook, smart-mouthed bastards, and people who keep things from me!" Sasuke scoffed, but Naruto ignored him. "My goal…is to become the greatest Hokage ever!" he proclaimed to everyone's surprise. "My dream is to earn the respect and acknowledgement of the whole village!" Sasuke and Sakura gave him skeptical looks, while Kakashi had a strange, distant gaze.

"Interesting. You're up, Pinky."

Sakura scowled at the jibe. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like books, sweet foods, and…" She glanced over at Sasuke briefly. "I dislike loudmouths such as Ino-buta and Naruto-no-baka!" Naruto just blew a raspberry at her. "My dream is…" She looked over at Sasuke again and blushed fiercely.

Kakashi gave her a dry look. "Right. How bout you, sunshine?"

Sasuke glared at him. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like to train. I dislike traitors and people who keep things from me." He shot a look at Naruto, who just shrugged and grinned. "My goal…no, my ambition is to…hunt down a certain man, then revive my clan."

The temperature dropped significantly.

Naruto winced. _'Itachi…'_

Sakura stared in awe. _'Kyaah, Sasuke-kun is too cool, shannaro!'_

Kakashi sighed heavily. _'Sensei's legacy is starved for attention and delusional, the surviving Uchiha is riddled with angst and murderous intent, and the brains of the team is a bundle of teenage hormones. I came off active duty for this?'_

"Well," he said lightly, "I still think you're all just punks." He enjoyed watching them bristle. "We'll see if you're worthy of being on my team."

They shared a confused look.

"Worthy?" Sasuke mumbled.

Kakashi nodded. "You have an hour to prepare. Come to Training Ground Seven and we'll see who's going to end up being a waste of my time. Oh, if you're thinking of picking up some lunch, don't. You'll just throw it all up." He was rewarded with triple looks of worry and unease. "See you guys in an hour!" He poofed away in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

The three genin regarded each other with a feeling of dread.

"What do you think he meant by 'worthy'?" Naruto asked.

"I think he's going to test us somehow," Sakura answered, looking a little green. "And I have a feeling it isn't multiple choice," she joked weakly.

"What do you think will happen if we fail his test?" Naruto gulped.

"I'm going home to prepare," spoke up Sasuke in a harsh voice. "I won't fail. You two should stop wasting time here as well." With that, he jumped off the roof and made his way to his apartment.

"Hard ass," Naruto mumbled, earning a slap on the back of the head from Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun's right though. I'm going to get some supplies too."

Naruto nodded and they both leapt off in opposite directions.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked after he got home and changed Kyuubi back into her human form.

"I think you shouldn't rely on me for answers to such a simple thing," she remarked while inspecting her claws. Naruto frowned, but she continued. "But I do think you should dispel me. You're going to need all the chakra you can get."

She had a good point. "But I thought you liked to be outside the seal."

"I do…and I appreciate it. I'm just not as fond of attention as you are."

Naruto chuckled and began checking his inventory. "You know you like being an adorable fox that everyone fawns over."

Kyuubi shot him a look. "You also need more experience with dispelling a Kage Bunshin, gaki, or did you forget the contents of that Scroll? You're going to need it later, not to mention in the future of your shinobi career, and you have virtually no experience with it in battle."

"Alright, alright, I will. I—ooo, I still have a few explosive tags!"

Kyuubi sighed in exasperation as Naruto finished arming himself, and then turned to face her. "Ready?" she asked. He nodded and sent a pulse of chakra via an unseen connection. She disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto felt her consciousness rushing back into him, along with mental information, feelings, and memories. He swayed slightly.

"Whoa…head rush."

_**"****Indeed. You're lucky to have me in here to help manage the input of information."**_

Bewildered, Naruto looked all around him. "Kyuubi? Or am I just hearing voices?"

_**"Baka. If you concentrate on me, you can communicate with me mentally. Otherwise, you'd look crazier than you already are."**_

He made a face, but closed his eyes, concentrated and visualized her in his mind. He found he could somewhat see her with her human form in the forest mindscape.

_'Cool. Freaky, but cool.'_

_**"****Mm. You need practice with this; you can just focus on my presence and communicate without closing your eyes. It's taking up too much of your concentration at this point though, so I don't recommend you do this in the middle of something important, like a fight.****"**_

_'Guess so. Alright, I'm going to head down to the training area.'_

_**"****Have fun…and good luck.**_**"**

_'Thanks.'_ Naruto opened his eyes and walked out the door. "Now then," he wondered out loud, "where's Training Ground Seven…?"

_**"…"**_

* * *

Quite some time later, Naruto finally stumbled across his teammates in a clearing with three log posts. "Yo!" he grinned, running up to them.

"Naruto!" Sakura shrilled. "You're ten minutes late!"

The blond looked around. "Kakashi-sensei isn't even here yet, so technically, I'm not!" He grinned wider and the girl sputtered.

"Now I am," came a voice behind Sasuke, who jumped.

_'I didn't even sense him!'_

The silver-haired jounin smiled down at them. "Who's up for a little survival test?"

"Survival?" Sakura squeaked, having a decidedly bad feeling about the whole situation. "Survival against what?"

Kakashi gave a dark chuckle and confirmed their worst suspicions. "Against me, of course. You three are hoping to be my very first genin team, so I want to make sure you're going to be worth getting off active duty." He reached behind him, causing all three to tense, but when he brought his hand back around, he was holding two small bells and an alarm clock. "Your job is to take these bells away from me." Kakashi tied them to a loop on his pants' waistline and set the clock. "You have until four. Anyone who fails, I will make sure they are sent back to the Academy for at least another three years."

With no small satisfaction did he enjoy their looks of shock and disbelief. Before anyone could protest, he glared at them and let out a minimal amount of killing intent. "I can and I will. Believe me, a former ANBU captain has notable influence."

The three genin shivered and found it slightly difficult to breathe. Kakashi smiled suddenly and the air returned to normal.

"B-but, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura piped up. "There are only two bells, but three of us!"

Kakashi just nodded. "I don't feel like training all three of you, so I'm making sure at least one of you will be out of my hands." She paled. "Tough luck for you guys that you got saddled with me. Anyone feel like giving up right here?" He fixated a piercing look at each one.

Sakura swallowed and steeled herself. Sasuke just smirked, despite the uncertainty he felt inside. Naruto had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, but moved into a battle stance.

_'Good. I half expected them to quit right here.'_

"Well then…begin!"

Sasuke and Sakura darted out of sight, taking cover in the foliage around them, but Naruto just stood there, smiling cockily at Kakashi, who blinked.

"Are you a little slow in the head or something? You're just going to try and take me on without any planning or thought?"

Naruto grinned. "That's right. I'm going to take one of those bells and make you acknowledge my strength. No sense in planning anything when I know exactly what to do."

Kakashi just sighed and reached into his pouch. Naruto froze and prepared to dodge any incoming weapons. That is, until Kakashi revealed a bright orange book with a content warning on the back cover and began reading. Naruto clenched his teeth.

"Oi, you scarecrow-looking bastard, don't ignore me!"

The man paid him no heed and instead, began to giggle perversely.

Naruto's eye twitched and he charged with a battle cry. He leapt into the air and roundhouse kicked at Kakashi's head, but he was blocked by Kakashi's unoccupied arm. As Naruto landed, he then tried to sweep at his sensei's feet, who just hopped backwards. The blond moved forward, executing a flurry of sloppy punches and kicks, each one getting blocked by Kakashi's one hand. Naruto growled in frustration, leapt back, took out a few kunai and shuriken and launched them at the man, aiming one at that accursed book. Kakashi whipped out his own kunai, deflecting each projectile with ease, finally looking at Naruto to glare at him with one of the shuriken barely nicked the edge of the book.

_'Now he's gonna get it.'_

"Lesson number one," he spoke calmly, putting away his book. "Taijutsu. Power means absolutely nothing…" He vanished, appearing behind Naruto, who looked furiously left and right. Kakashi put his hands together in the _tora_ seal. Nearby, in different places, Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes widened.

_'And the dobe's toast.'_

_'Naruto, move! Move already!'_

"…if you don't have the speed to back it up." Naruto turned a deathly white at Kakashi's voice behind him, freezing at the menacing tone. "**Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ougi…**"

_'Oh fuck.'_

"**Sennen Goroshi!**"

Pain. Complete, utter, debilitating _pain_. Naruto shrieked loudly as he was launched into the air by what can only be described as a super powerful, chakra-infused ass poke of death. As he splashed into a small, nearby lake, Sasuke and Sakura watched on in astonishment and disgust.

_'_…This _is my sensei?...Itachi, you planned out all this suffering for me, didn't you…'_

_'Wh-what the _hell_ was that?! Kakashi-sensei, you freakish perv!'_

Below the surface of the water, Naruto clutched at his rear area. _'Sonofabitch, that HURT!' _He writhed at the throbbing pain. When it subsided enough for him to focus, he formed a cross seal. _'No more dicking around. That asshole's going down!'_

Kakashi's senses tingled and he looked at the water closely. Several dark shadows rose rapidly and burst through the surface. _'Bunshin? Wait…those clones are dripping water! Kage Bunshin?!'_

The blond genin and his copies all charged at him, some with fists raised, some with kunai, all yelling bloody murder. Kakashi snapped into action as he took out the clones one by one.

_'How many did he make?!'_

Somewhere between dodging and attacking, Kakashi found the opportunity to grab a smoke bomb and threw it down. Stunned, Naruto and his clones closed their eyes to prevent the smoke from irritating them. When it cleared, there was no sight of the jounin. The blonds immediately went into chaos.

"What the?!"

"Where'd he go?!"

"Dammit, you let him get away!"

"Me?! You're the one who just stood there while he got a smoke bomb!"

"Wait a minute! He probably transformed into one of us!"

"But which one?!"

"Quick, dispel all of us!"

"Wait, you idiot! Then he'll know which one of us is the real one?!"

"Who're you calling an idiot, idiot?!"

"You, of course, idiot!"

"I'm _you_, you idiot!"

"That's it! I'll just smack all of you until I find one that doesn't disappear!"

A collective roar and sounds of punching filled the air until there was only one Naruto left, sporting a swollen cheek and the beginnings of a black eye, both of which began healing rapidly.

_'Shoulda just dispelled them all,'_ he thought dejectedly, rubbing his cheek. He checked his surroundings with no sight of Kakashi, but he did notice something shiny near the base of a nearby tree.

_'A bell! Bastard must've dropped it while escaping it!' _Naruto ran towards it, ignoring his instincts. _'Yoink!'_

Yoink, indeed; a snag of rope suddenly wrapped around his leg and hoisted him into the air, upside-down. Spluttering and yelling foul curses at the top of his lungs, Naruto narrowed his eyes when his sensei walked calmly into view.

"Like catching a fox," Kakashi stated. Naruto had a panicked look on his face, but Kakashi winked at him. Naruto wrinkled his nose at him.

Sasuke had done enough watching and waiting; the perfect opportunity had arrived. _'Now!'_ He flung several kunai and shuriken towards Kakashi in a curved path.

"So," Kakashi began conversationally, "wanna tell me how you learned that techni—" Naruto jumped at the sight of Sasuke's projectiles slam into his sensei's head and torso.

_'Dammit, Sasuke, overkill!'_ he thought frantically as the body began falling. However, when it landed, it transformed into a log.

Sasuke cursed. _'Kawarimi! He knows my location now!'_ He quickly leapt away from his perch and sought a safer haven. Sakura changed locations too, since she had hid near Sasuke. Naruto was left suspended in the air, alone.

"…Damn them all." He took out a kunai, reached up, and cut himself loose. As he landed, he looked over to the alarm clock. _'Dammit, we have just under an hour. At this rate, we're all screwed. How are three genin supposed to beat one jounin anyway?! He's faster than us, stronger than us…hell, he's _bigger_ than us…'_ Naruto stopped suddenly.

_'Three…is bigger than one though…'_

He had to find Sasuke and Sakura. Fast.

* * *

Sakura huffed as she slowed down to catch her breath. She had been hearing constant rustling behind her; someone was tracking her. _'Figures sensei would act like a stalker,'_ she thought wryly. _'Okay. Calm down. I need a plan.' _She looked around her. _'I can set up a series of traps using all these trees…then what? I need to incapacitate him somehow and then…I could yell for Sasuke-kun or Naruto for backup…'_

"S-Sakura…" She turned in the direction of the pitiful sounding voice and froze. "He-help me…Sakura…" There was blood everywhere. On his hair, on his clothes, on his face, _everywhere_. Sasuke crawled towards her, looking like a human pincushion, blood trailing on the ground as he made his way towards her. "Sakura…please…s-save me…" he pleaded. Suddenly, he spat up a large amount of blood and fell still, unmoving at all.

Sakura screamed in terror and utter despair and then fainted, the shock overwhelming her mind.

A few moments after she hit the ground, the body of Sasuke disappeared, and Kakashi stepped over to her. "Lesson number two: Genjutsu." He paused and looked down at her prone form. "…No use teaching if you're not listening. Here, I thought you were the brains of the team." He shook his head then proceeded to search for Sasuke.

* * *

He had heard Sakura's faint scream; it couldn't have been more than two hundred yards away. Sasuke stopped moving and dropped down into a clearing, knowing Kakashi would catch up very soon. He didn't have to wait long.

"And then, there was one."

Sasuke shifted into a stance and sneered. "I'm not like those two."

"Tough words coming from a spoiled brat with a superiority complex," Kakashi smiled, wiping the sneer right off the Uchiha heir's face. Sasuke launched several shuriken, then immediately followed up with a combination of taijutsu attacks. Kakashi dodged off to the side to avoid the shuriken and proceeded to block the boy's assault.

_'Excellent. Not sloppy at all like Naruto's, and he's putting quite a bit of intent behind his attacks. But…'_ Kakashi caught Sasuke's foot and held it tight. "Still not enough."

Sasuke only had to time brace himself before he was swung through the air and slammed into the ground. He grunted in pain at the impact and the air in his lungs was forced out. Ignoring the aching in his back, Sasuke rolled over and got up, glowering at the silver-haired jounin.

_'Fine. Time to take this to the next level.'_

He began forming hand seals and ended on tiger, putting Kakashi on edge. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

Kakashi prepared himself. _'What's with these genin and knowing jutsu above their level?'_

A huge fireball was expelled from Sasuke's mouth and engulfed the area where Kakashi was. After a several seconds of scorching, Sasuke halted the flow of chakra and awaited the results of his attack. However, when the flames died down, there was no sign of Kakashi at all. _'Shit, where is he? Behind me? Above?'_

"Below," came a muffled voice. "**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!**"

Sasuke tried to leap away, but Kakashi was much quicker as his hand shot up from the earth and dragged the Uchiha down into the ground. Kakashi then surfaced, moving from the ground with ease using his chakra, and proceeded to dust off his clothes. "What was that saying about hammering down an exposed nail?" he asked amusedly at the boy, whose only part of his body that was above ground was his head.

"Fuck you," Sasuke spat.

"Temper, temper. You should show more respect to your elders, you know."

"Fuck. You."

Kakashi chuckled. "Lesson three: ninjutsu. Well you're pretty much set there, actually." He looked up casually. "I wonder what Naruto is up to. Do me a favor? Stay here, keep an eye out for him." He walked off, humming jovially, leaving behind a much irate Sasuke.

* * *

"Sakura…? Sakura? Sakura-chan?"

She groaned and opened her eyes, nearly screaming again when she saw Naruto hovering above her.

"Ah, there we go. Morning! Dunno if it's a good or bad thing that I didn't try CPR."

She twitched and punched him in the face, causing him to yelp and clutch his nose. "If you did, that would've been your balls."

"So bean, Sahgura-chahn," he replied heavily. She twitched again at the tone of familiarity as Naruto sniffled and adjusted his nose. Forcing herself to calm down, she recalled the previous events.

_'_…_Genjutsu. I fell for such an obvious genjutsu.' _Sakura was dismayed at her lack of sensibility. _'Sasuke-kun wouldn't have fallen for such an easy illusion.'_

"Sakura?" Naruto's voice pierced her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said, let's find Sasuke. I was wondering if you fell asleep again," he teased. She growled and moved to hit him again, but he jumped back and held up his hands. "Ah-ah-ah! If you hit me again, I won't tell you how we're going to get those bells!" Sakura stopped with incredulity on her face.

"You figured out how to get those bells? From _Kakashi-sensei_? The same guy who's been wiping the floor with us?"

"Yep! C'mon! We've gotta find Sasuke-teme first!" Naruto bounded off and Sakura followed, still unsure.

_'Am I still unconscious and just dreaming?'_

A couple of minutes later, the pair stumbled across their last member, and all hell broke loose.

"…I am still dreaming! Sasuke-kun's severed head is on the floor! And it's _blinking_ at me!"

Naruto couldn't say anything, much less breathe; he was howling with laughter and doubled over on the floor.

Sasuke opted not to say anything at all since his pride was quite bruised. Instead, he fixed them both with a glare that promised pain. Its effect was lost, unfortunately, because of his predicament.

When he could breathe properly enough, Naruto took it upon himself to crack lame jokes. "Oh oh! I know! Aren't you getting a little _ahead_ of yourself, teme? Maybe you went just in over your _head_. I mean, that's what you get when you act like such a _stick in the mud_. While you're down there, we might as well lay down some _ground_ rules." He continued cackling, amused as all hell.

Finally, Sasuke could take no more. "Dobe, even for you, those are just wrong. Now get me out of here."

Naruto wiped his eyes and Sakura snapped out of her mindset, and they both moved forward to dig and pull him out.

A few minutes later, Sasuke was finally free and proceeded to smack Naruto over the head. "That was out of principle," he scowled, feeling slightly better at Naruto's cry of pain.

"Freakin' teme…I should just tell Sakura-chan my idea on how to get the bells and just let you fail," Naruto groused, rubbing his head.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "_You_ have an idea? Why tell us?"

Naruto grinned. "And people call me dumb." He held up his hands and extended his fingers, three on one and one on the other. "What's bigger, kids? Three or one?" he asked in a patronizing tone.

"All three of us against him?" Sakura asked, catching on. Naruto nodded, his grin widening. "But, Naruto, don't you remember? There are only _two_ bells! And he's a _jounin_, for Kami's sake! An _ex-ANBU_ jounin!"

"So what? Three genin against one jounin's gotta have better chances than one genin alone." He spoke softer, his mind already made up, "And I know there's only two bells. But don't _you_ remember? I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever, and a good Hokage always puts others before himself!" Even Sasuke looked a little startled. "Besides, Sasuke here'll piss and bitch and whine and moan if he doesn't pass, and you wanna stay with _Sasuke-kun_, right?"

Both looked at him in a slightly annoyed fashion, but hesitated. "Naruto…are you sure?" Sakura asked quietly. "It's not fair to you."

Naruto just gave her one of his trademark grins in reply. "Life ain't fair, but it's a little better when you're the one calling the shots."

Sasuke scoffed, but spoke in a barely noticeably humbled tone. "Typical dobe." He looked Naruto right in the eyes. "What do you have in mind?" The grin never faltered as the happy-go-lucky genin sat down and took inventory of their supplies and abilities.

Nearby, an unnoticed Kakashi smiled and jumped off, not letting the rest of the conversation be heard. _'Now to see what they can really do…together.'_

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Kakashi was rudely interrupted from his reading when a storm of kunai and shuriken descended on him from all around. Sighing, he rolled to the side and pocketed his book. His three students stood around him in a triangular formation. "So you three want a rematch, huh?"

Naruto smirked as they rushed towards him. "You sure there's only three of us, Kakashi-sensei?" On cue, clones of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura jumped out from the surrounding foliage and joined the attack.

Kakashi's eye widened and became hard-pressed to defend himself. _'I knew there were multiple presences, but he created this many clones?!'_ One by one, Kakashi destroyed the clones while blocking and dodging attacks, as well as the occasional grasp for the bells. _'At this rate, they'll get their hands on them!'_

Suddenly, his fist passed right through one of the Sakura clones and he stumbled. _'Shit! A regular Bunshin!'_ As Kakashi recovered quickly and whirled around and kicked a Sasuke clone that pounced for the bells, one of the Narutos threw down a smoke bomb, obscuring the area. _'Why a smoke bomb? They can't see either…'_ Several sounds of sizzling reached his ears. _'Exploding tags!'_ He reacted immediately and leapt into the air, out of the smoke cloud, avoiding the explosions below him.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" A fireball roared straight towards Kakashi, courtesy of a waiting Sasuke above him. Kakashi also heard three snaps of rope and the whizzing of dozens of incoming projectiles.

'_A furnace and some traps. Good plan; Sasuke must've launched himself up as soon as the tags were set.'_ Kakashi went through a series of hand seals. _'Man, I hate wind jutsu.'_

"**Fuuton: Kaze Mayu!**"

Gusts of wind whipped around him in a protective barrier, deflecting the flames and weaponry. When Sasuke's attack died down, so did the winds, and Kakashi saw Sasuke fling something small and orange towards him as they began descending, targeting the bells.

_'The fox!' _Kakashi prepared to intercept it, but paused. _'Wait, I didn't see the fox around before…it's not real! Behind me!'_ He checked and there was Naruto, who had leapt in his direction as soon as the two jutsu ended. Kakashi tried to spin around in midair as Naruto flew at him with a hand outstretched. _'Well, crap.'_

Just as Naruto's fingers brushed a bell, the alarm sounded, ringing throughout the grounds. Kakashi suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke along the bells, and Naruto continued to sail through the air until he crashed into Sasuke. The boys tumbled onto the ground with twin shouts of pains, and Sakura ran up to check on them.

"Are you two alright? What the hell just happened up there?! I thought we had him for sure!"

Slow clapping rang out as Kakashi stepped out from behind a tree. "You're not the only one who knows Kage Bunshin, Naruto." The blond grumbled as he untangled himself from Sasuke. Kakashi smiled. "Looks like you guys didn't get the bells. That's a shame." They all had a common look of dejection and anger. "Of course, this whole thing only means one thing: you all pass."

Dejection and anger turned into total surprise.

"Wh-what?" Sakura stammered.

Kakashi smiled wider, his eye closing. "All three of you pass."

"How?" Sasuke demanded. "Why?"

Naruto bobbed his head up and down furiously in agreement.

"A ninja must always look underneath the underneath. The purpose of this exercise was one thing and one thing only: to promote teamwork."

"Teamwork?" Sasuke clarified, looking at Naruto.

Kakashi nodded. "Individual abilities are important, there's no doubt, but you also have duties to each other as a team. You ignored the fact that there were only two bells and the conflict it presented between the three of you. When you put too much value on yourself…" He trailed off and looked at Sakura. "For example, Sakura, let's say Sasuke were captured by an enemy. Either you kill Naruto or Sasuke dies. What would you do?" Sakura just paled and remained silent. "You see? It's both impossible and disastrous to take everything onto your own shoulders; that line of thinking gets people you care about killed." Kakashi looked up towards the sky and spoke in a quieter tone.

"It gets lonely that way…" The three teens stared at his somber posture in confusion, but then he shook his head.

"Do you know why Konoha is the strongest shinobi village? It's the same reason why we're looked down on." He then gazed at the three genin in the eyes. "It's because we care about each other. We work together and protect each other for the sake of each other. Today, all three of you have taken the first step to what it means to be truly strong, and I'm happy to call you guys my very first students."

Naruto had a radiant grin, Sakura's eyes were shining, and even Sasuke let a small smile seep through.

"Remember this: those who break the rules and codes of the shinobi world are considered trash, but those who don't take care of their comrades…are lower than trash. This is the first and most important lesson I give to you guys." Kakashi smiled at them again. "Starting tomorrow, we begin missions as Team Seven. You are dismissed for the day." The jounin put his hands together and disappeared.

"You know…" Naruto spoke up. "He's kinda cool." Sakura giggled and Sasuke shook his head slightly. "Hey, let's go have some ramen to celebrate!" Before Sakura could protest against the choice of food, Naruto continued, "My treat!"

Sasuke smirked. "Alright, I'll take you up on that, dobe."

"Hmph! Never knew you were a cheapskate, teme."

"Boys," admonished Sakura teasingly. "Where to?"

"Ichiraku's, the best ramen in Konohagakure!" Naruto shouted, his stomach growling loudly at the thought. His teammates just shook their heads amusedly, and the three made their way out of the grounds.

* * *

"Ossan, three pork ramen for your best customer to start off, please!"

"Osu! Ah, I see you brought friends! What can I get you two?"

"Seafood ramen, please." Sasuke went straight for the most expensive item on the menu.

"Um…I'm not in a ramen mood, but how bout a kitsune udon, please?" Sakura asked after sitting down.

"No problem!" Teuchi and Ayame went straight to work.

"Not in the mood for ramen?" Naruto half-shouted, horrified. "Blasphemy!"

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "Ne," she said in a subdued tone. "Later, are you guys…going to Iruka-sensei's…?" she trailed off.

The boys' faces darkened, but they both nodded somberly. The three sat in silence with the thought of their deceased teacher.

"None of that!" Teuchi half-slammed two bowls of ramen in front of Naruto and Sasuke. "You'll spoil the food."

"Umino-san wouldn't have wanted you guys to brood over his death," Ayame said quietly, though her eyes were slightly shiny.

Teuchi nodded firmly and said to Sakura, "Now then, your kitsune udon will be done shortly. Takes a bit longer than ramen."

Sakura mumbled her thanks and tried to change the mood. "So, speaking of kitsune, where's yours, Naruto?"

"Oh, uh, I left her at home before we went to see Kakashi-sensei." He gave a hearty "Itadakimasu!" and dug into his noodles.

Sasuke did the same, though much more reserved.

"I keep forgetting to ask, but what's her name?"

Naruto choked slightly and Sasuke looked out the corner of his eye at him. "Her name is…" The blond stuffed another mouthful of ramen to stall for time. He could feel her presence inside him grow stronger with curiosity.

_'Think, man, think! Does Kyuubi even have a name?! Um…um…she's…'_

He swallowed and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Satomi! Her name is Satomi."

Sakura cooed at the name, somewhat surprised Naruto could come up with it. Naruto registered shock from Kyuubi before she quietly retreated back into the shadows of his mind.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. _'Took him awhile to remember his own pet's name…if that's really the case.'_ His suspicions were solidifying, but he let it go as Teuchi set down Sakura's order.

"I still say you should've gotten the ramen," Naruto groused, finishing up his first bowl.

"Maybe next time," Sakura replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "Itadakimasu."

"It is pretty good," said Sasuke quietly, bowing his head at the Ichiraku patriarch and his daughter.

"See, see?! Even the bastard here thinks so! Best ramen in town, right?!"

"I wouldn't know; this is my first time eating ramen."

Dead silence.

Naruto turned mechanically towards the Uchiha. "Sasuke…y-you've _never_ had ramen before?" With the face he was making, they'd have thought he just found out the Sandaime had been assassinated by a former student or something.

Sasuke shrugged. "Why is this so surprising to you? Not everyone's addicted to ramen like you are."

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Sasuke-kun's right, you know," she also shrugged.

The blond buried his face into his hands and let out a low wail of pure anguish. "My team sucks. I want a do-over." He got twin smacks on the head with two pairs of chopsticks.

"Oi, don't say we suck just because we have more sensible tastes in food," Sakura said wryly, giving a small giggle at Naruto's pout. Even Sasuke had a ghost of a smile on his lips.

From a rooftop not too far away, Kakashi and the Third Hokage watched the young members of Team Seven.

"You finally have a genin team, Kakashi-kun. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"As soon as you heard Minato-kun's legacy and the Uchiha heir were going to be on the same team, you demanded to take them under your wing. However, remember that you have an equal duty to all three."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I will try to be as good of a teacher as Minato-sensei was to me."

The old Hokage chuckled. "Try to be yourself, Kakashi-kun. That is more than enough; Minato-kun taught you well."

"Not well enough," Kakashi replied somberly, memories of the past flickering through his mind.

The Sandaime regarded him sternly. "The past is past, Kakashi. Those three are the future. If you cannot look past that and embrace what you are running from, how will you be a good teacher to them? How will they survive?" Kakashi swallowed, but nodded.

The Hokage sighed and glanced back to the three children. _'No,'_ he thought sadly. _'They are children no longer. Two of them haven't been for a long time.'_

"Train them well, Kakashi. Teach them well. Those three are destined for greatness. Those three will be crucial to the future of Konoha. I can feel it down to the very core of my soul."

Kakashi regarded him with surprise and awe; the old man had a faraway look in his tired eyes, as though he could see the inner workings of the universe itself.

"…I will, Hokage-sama." After a profound silence, Kakashi spoke up cautiously. "Hokage-sama…there are some things I need to know about Naruto."

The old man blinked and exhaled slowly. "That is up to him to tell you, Kakashi-kun. No doubt you already have deduced answers by now, but they are his to confirm."

Kakashi nodded reluctantly and continued watching his students. _'For the sake of the future, huh? Rin…Obito…Minato-sensei…it's time for me to move forward with my students. I'll make you all proud.'_ He smiled down at his team, feeling a sense of inner peace.

After awhile, his smile faltered. _'...But first, could you guys tell me just how many bowls can that kid consume?!'_

**CHAPTER END**_  
_

* * *

**Translations:**

kitsune - fox

teme - Yakuza-influenced variation of _temae_; very rude way of saying "you" or "bastard"

itadakimasu - a polite utterance before the partaking of a meal; literally "I will receive"

Uzu no Kuni - Land of the Whirlpool

Katon - Fire Release

Doton - Earth Release

Fuuton - Wind Release

Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Grand Fireball Technique

Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu - Inner Decapitation Technique

Konohagakure Hiden - Hidden Leaf Village Secret

Taijutsu no Ougi - Ultimate Taijutsu Attack

Sennen Goroshi - Thousand Years of Pain

**Original/Non-canonical Techniques:**

Kaze Mayu no Jutsu (風繭の術 - "Wind Cocoon Technique"), D-rank:  
_The user is wrapped around tightly packed and spiraling winds, deflecting most projectiles and some jutsu, depending on the level of power._

**Original Character:**

Satomi (恵美)  
Sex: Female  
Age: ?  
Height: 183 cm  
Weight: 58 kg  
Eye Color: crimson  
Hair Color: scarlet  
Voice Inspiration: Akeno Watanabe

* * *

**Author's Note: **Took out the tail. New readers will ask: What tail? Leave it be. Please.

Couldn't resist having Kakashi christening his team without his chakra-infused kanchou. Lovable cyclopean freak.

Satomi. Satomi, Satomi, Satomi. She's quite possibly the only reason why this fic has plagued me over the years like a festering splinter. The _mi_ part is nanori for _beautiful_, which is something even a brash kid like Naruto can come up with. _Sato_ can be the nanori for _blessing_, reflecting his penchant for flipping circumstances, usually in his favor. It can also mean _village_, yes, but that wasn't my aim at all.

My only issue is the triple _sa_ in Team Seven now: Satomi, Sakura, Sasuke. Sanuvabitch.

* * *

**Omake: Hang in There, Kyuu-sama!**

"…You want some water?"

A low groan was followed by, "…Yeah, please."

She made her way into the cramped kitchen, grabbed a glass out of one of the cabinets, and filled it from the tap before returning to the teen. Naruto straightened up a bit before taking it gratefully and drinking it slowly.

After setting the nearly empty glass on the bathroom counter, he looked up and murmured, "Thanks."

She looked away. "I-it's not like I did it for your sake, you know."

Naruto stared up at her in bewilderment. When she noticed, she fidgeted and a small flush adorned her features.

"I just…I didn't want to deal with your pathetic angst, that's all!" she exclaimed defensively. "You understand, right? So, quit s-staring and don't make such a big deal out of it!"

And with that, the Kyuubi stormed off as gracefully as she could.

Naruto continued staring at the spot she was standing in.

_'…Okay…that was disturbing…'_

He scratched his cheek with his finger. A strange feeling blossomed in his heart and desire began coursing through his veins.

_'But…it was…really cute.'_


	5. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

After a grand total of eleven bowls of ramen (three for Sasuke and eight for Naruto), a kitsune udon and some yokan for Sakura, Team Seven decided to head back to their homes to clean up before going to the funeral procession.

Naruto entered his apartment, closed the door, and began taking off his clothes, intent on taking a shower. He threw the outfit into a ratty-looking laundry machine, tossed in a scoop of detergent and started it up, then moved towards his bathroom. He accidentally stepped on a blank scroll and looked down on his floor, then looked around his apartment.

_'Maybe I should clean up the place a bit. Hehe, I'm so glad I learned this.'_

Naruto formed the cross seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**"

Three Shadow Clones of him appeared, saluted him, and proceeded to do various tasks to improve the living conditions. Naruto nodded self-satisfactorily and stepped into his shower. Sitting under the warm, running water, he closed his eyes and fell into a trance; he wanted to check up on his tenant. The sound of the water and the faint noise of his clones working began fading.

_'Kyuubi?'_

He focused on her presence and soon, a visualization of her materialized in his mind. In the vast forest he had created for her, she lay in her gigantic fox form. He took in the sight since this was the first time he had a good look at what her demonic state looked like. Oddly enough, he noticed that there were differences than what history books and illustrations had taught and portrayed her as. Her fur was lighter in color, her ears weren't as long and looked more like a normal fox's, and her limbs weren't as lanky. She just appeared to be a very large version of a common red-orange vixen, only with four tails.

Naruto felt a tugging sensation and suddenly, he was standing right in front of her huge maw. She blinked down at him, opened her mouth and yawned. The hot breath nearly blew him away and he sputtered, bracing himself.

"**Heh. My bad,"** she chuckled. **"Give me a moment."** Her great form shimmered and shrunk down, morphing into her human form.

"Better?" she smiled mischieviously.

Naruto nodded with a wry look on his face. "Kyuubi—"

"Satomi," she interrupted.

"Eh?"

She looked away. "Earlier…when you answered that Sakura girl…you called me Satomi."

"Oh! Err, sorry. I don't even know if that was your real name."

"Why that name?" she asked in a half-demanding tone.

"It…I dunno. It was the first thing I thought of." He began flushing slightly.

She gave him a deep look that revealed none of her thoughts. _'Beautiful blessing…blessing, not a curse…what is this boy?'_

"…I've never had a name before; 'Kyuubi' was just a title the humans referred to me as. Hell, it isn't even very accurate anymore."

She smiled at Naruto, and it was a true, open smile that she allowed him to see. Naruto swallowed at the vision, flushing even more.

"Call me Satomi from now on. I like it."

"A-alright…Satomi." He said it hesitantly, but her smile did not waver. The newly christened Satomi sat down on the forest floor.

"Congratulations on passing your teacher's test, by the way. It was a clever plan."

Naruto scratched his head modestly. "We all worked together on it." Satomi made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. "I was wondering about your fox form…the big one."

"Why it looks different than what you've seen and heard about?" Naruto nodded his confirmation. "Effects of the purification seal; there's less demonic energy warping my true form. Well…maybe not my true form anymore. This is now," she gestured to herself, "because I'm becoming more human. Even my larger form isn't as enormous as it was before."

"More human…" Naruto repeated. "Does…does that mean that…something can happen to you?"

"You mean, does that mean I'm no longer immortal?" The blond nodded. "Yes. You and I have become hybrids. Hanyou, I believe is the old term but it's not really half-and-half. I'm pretty sure we'll have extremely long life, but we can definitely be killed. It'd just be…relatively difficult."

Naruto looked gobsmacked. "Extremely long life? How long?" he squeaked.

Satomi shrugged. "Centuries? Millennia? Until the end of time? We'll just have to see. It doesn't mean you can be as reckless as you want, though." She gave him a dry look to emphasize. "Even my power can't regenerate a lopped off head. Your heart…maybe, but let's not test that."

Her host was only too willing to agree, but then his face turned pensive.

"I'm…I'm going to live much longer than…anyone…" His façade became pained.

Satomi's face turned neutral. By default, she and his father had condemned him to almost an eternity of watching people pass away without him. "…I told you, though, you'll never be alone."

This lightened him up slightly, but his thoughts were still heavy.

_'You're still a child,'_ she sighed mentally. _'But you're being forced to mature so fast.'_

Satomi spoke to attempt to shift the mood. "Oi, you'd better finish up your shower before you get all pruney, gaki."

Naruto jumped at her voice and nodded when her words penetrated his mind, banishing the morbid thoughts for another time. "Do you want to come along to the…to the funeral?"

"I don't think it'd be a good idea for a lot of other people to see a fox perched on you."

Naruto shrugged. "Let them think what they want now; they'll regret it in the future when I'm Hokage." Satomi smirked at that. "Besides, there's not much for you to do in here. At least you can stay in the apartment; I'm cleaning it up. Or you can go out and walk around."

"You trust me to walk around your village alone?" she asked as she bared her fangs.

Naruto winced, but said, "Yeah, I guess I do."

She chuckled to hide her surprise and said, "Tempting, but I think I'll just stay at your apartment. Don't expect me to be your mother or housewife or anything, though; I'm just going to laze around and maybe try out your shower."

"I don't think I could ever think of you like that," Naruto laughed. "You know how to use the shower? And why would you?"

"I know everything you do," she replied, tapping at her head. "It's just a matter of doing them. And why not? Memory is one thing, but experience is another. Now, shall we?"

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, rising to full consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was grateful the water was still warm. He shut it off and stepped out, wrapping a scratchy towel around his waist. His Shadow Clones were just finishing up and the place looked more impressive than it did before, though it was still dingy. He dispelled the clones, and then summoned Satomi into one, but without her fox features.

Satomi looked around appraisingly. "Not bad. Feels like I can breathe easier now," she smirked. "Still, don't you think you should improve things around here? New stuff, maybe a bigger place? I know you've been saving up some of the monthly pensions the old man has been giving you. Let's put that to good use."

Naruto thought about it. He only lived on the bare minimum, insisting that he didn't more and told the Hokage to hold the rest each month. A monthly surplus from when he left the orphanage at age ten to now could really add up. "Guess we'll go see the old man after the funeral." He looked for some formal clothes and found black robes that still fit. He glanced at Satomi. "Err…could you turn around?"

"Do I have to?" she asked with an innocent smile. He spluttered and blushed at the surprising playfulness. "I told you, it's nothing I haven't seen before. Besides, you're a little too young for my tastes, no matter how mature you may be. Give it two or three years and we'll talk." She chuckled when he choked, fully enjoying his discomfort and her own nature for trickery.

"Ah-guh-buh…"

"Then again, I haven't seduced someone in a _long_ time." Naruto's eyes widened as she began parting her yukata slowly. "If you want, I can make it fair…" The boy shot like a bullet into the bathroom, slamming the door.

Satomi laughed, having noticed the slight bulge behind the towel. _'Maybe not that much of a child. We'll see in a couple of years.'_ A few minutes later, Naruto stepped out, fully dressed, and Satomi had to give the boy credit; he was barely blushing and could look her in the eyes.

"I'm gonna head out," he spoke calmly. "It's about time anyway."

Satomi nodded, her mood dampening with his. "Take care of yourself, gaki." He moved to the door to put on his shoes, and she felt the urge to lift his spirits somehow. "Naruto," she spoke as he opened the door. "Isn't there something you should say before you leave?"

Naruto gave her a puzzled look for a few moments before it hit. It was something he had dearly wished to do for the longest time. "Ittekimasu," he said softly, giving her a grateful smile.

"Itterasshai," she replied.

He closed the door and Satomi exhaled, frowning slightly. "The most feared demon in the world is going soft," she muttered. "_Damn_ these human emotions."

* * *

Naruto really hated the whispering. As soon as he stepped onto the Academy grounds, a collective hush descended on the crowd, mainly composed of students and former students, as well as several ninja who knew Iruka.

"…is the Third thinking?…"

"…that kid…becoming a ninja…"

"…with the Uchiha, too…"

"…his fault…Umino died…"

Naruto steadfastly ignored them and sought out his teammates. He spotted various classmates of his; Hinata and Shino were kneeling in front the altar with Iruka's smiling picture, Ino was setting down a bouquet of white periwinkles, goldenrods, and cyclamens on the closed coffin, and Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji were talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Naruto!" He turned to look at Sakura, who was waving her arm, indicating where she and Sasuke were sitting. He quickly moved towards them and sat down, giving them a weak grin.

"It's a small ceremony," Sasuke said quietly, looking at the altar. "The Hokage should come by soon and give a few words. Afterwards, they'll light the coffin up in a funeral pyre." Naruto and Sakura both nodded and sat in silence, and they all watched as people proceeded to offer their respects and lay down flowers.

"Crap," Naruto muttered. "I didn't bring a flower."

"Your first funeral?" Sasuke half-asked, half-stated neutrally. "Not a big deal. They'll end up burning with the pyre anyway."

Before Naruto could reply, the masses became silent and turned as the Sandaime came into view, dressed in black and red robes. Two chuunin quietly moved the altar away to the side. The Hokage walked up in front of the procession, which moved to their seats, bowed with a collective "Hokage-sama," and sat down.

The aged man spoke with a clear voice. "Thank you for coming. Tonight, we honor Umino Iruka's passing into the next world. Iruka was orphaned at a young age, but despite his hardships, and the trouble he would get into with authority," his tone became fond, "Iruka became a fine, upstanding man who, in spite of his abilities, chose to benefit future generations by becoming an instructor here. Many of you know him as a warm, caring teacher who loved what he did almost as much as he loved all his students." A few sniffles rang out. "But contrary to what you may know about him, he was also never one for much formality, unless absolutely necessary, which is why if he were here, he wouldn't have wanted an old fuddy-duddy like me speaking on his behalf." Many people present shifted awkwardly, puzzled at the Hokage's comment. "That is why I'd like to have one of his students have the privilege."

He looked down at one particular person, who seized up and began panicking.

"Naruto, why don't you come up and say a few words for us?"

Everybody turned to look at him in incredulity and the blond wished the earth would just swallow him up.

"O-ojii…is this…really a good idea?"

"I'm sure Iruka would have wanted it, Naruto-kun," smiled the old man, beckoning him. Naruto gulped and stood up, and then made his way slowly up where the Hokage was standing.

He licked his dry lips and took a deep breath.

"Uhh…yo. I mean, hi, no, err, hello everyone." Everyone just stared at him intently, many with skepticism.

_'I knew this was a bad idea,' _he mentally groaned.

Looking around, he saw his teammates, who looked at him patiently. In the back, Kakashi gave him a small wave and a nod of his head. He spotted Teuchi and Ayame in the crowd, who smiled encouragingly and gave him a thumbs-up. Naruto had a moment of clarity and steeled himself.

"Th-thank you all for coming." He cleared his throat. "First of all, I need to say this: it's my fault that Iruka-sensei died." Murmurs erupted, some angry. Naruto continued, "If I hadn't listened to Mizuki and stolen the forbidden scroll, Iruka wouldn't have come and protected me from him. But that's not what's really important."

The crowd silenced, partially because the Hokage motioned for them to settle down.

"How he died isn't important. That's not what matters. Because you were right, Ayame-nee-chan," he said, looking at her. "Iruka-sensei wouldn't have wanted us to brood over his death. What's really important is how he _lived_. He lived as our teacher and our friend. He lived as…as a protector and as a…as a father to me. I'm grateful for everything he did for me and for Konoha, and I promise to go through life remembering how he lived. And I never go back on my word; that's my nindo."

A little more than half the crowd was smiling, and the rest looked at him with begrudging respect.

Naruto's eyes shone when he glanced down at some of his classmates. "Hey, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, remember when we ditched class during that test day? Iruka-sensei got sooo pissed at us."

Shikamaru chuckled while Kiba and Chouji exchanged grins. "As I recall, it was all your idea. Why I followed such a troublesome plan is beyond me."

Naruto then recalled, "Or that time when Sasuke's fan club got a hold of one of his tests? The one where he got like, one wrong because of some small technicality or something? Iruka-sensei got grilled by them and all."

Many of the members of said fan club, including Sakura, chuckled nervously while Sasuke just put his hand to his head in exasperation.

"First time I ever saw him really scared," Naruto laughed.

Kiba called out, "Oi, Naruto, how bout that time when you put glue on the surface of his chair? He sat down for lecture and when he stood up with the chair stuck on his butt…man, the look on his face was priceless!" Akamaru barked in agreement, and everyone laughed at the thought.

"See?" Naruto shouted, his eyes shining. "_This_ is how Iruka-sensei would've wanted it: for people to remember him with a smile on their faces! _This_ is the best honor we can give to him!"

The mass of people nodded and felt their hearts lighten. Some even began applauding. Naruto gave his foxy grin and the Sandaime looked proudly at him.

"Sasuke!" the blond called out. "Come up here and help send our Iruka-sensei off with that dragon breath of yours!"

Sasuke scoffed but smiled and walked up. Facing the coffin and making a few hand seals, he mumbled, "**Goukakyuu no Jutsu**," and the pyre was lit.

Everyone watched on as the flames and Naruto's words cleansed the grief inside them. The blonde moved beside the Sandaime and spoke in a very quiet voice, so only the old man could hear him.

"I hate the word 'sacrifice,'" he murmured softly.

After a moment, Naruto said firmly only one word: "Kyouchouriki."

_'Kyouchouriki,'_ the Third thought with surprise. _'The power of harmony.'_ He looked at Naruto, whose sole attention was on the pyre.

_'Good-bye, Iruka-sensei,'_ Naruto thought with tears escaping his eyes. _'Watch me make you proud.'_

* * *

"How was it?" Satomi called out from the bathroom as she heard Naruto walk in.

"I had to get up and speak in front of everyone," Naruto groused goodheartedly. "But it turned out better than everyone expected, I think."

"Good for you."

The bathroom door opened and Naruto froze like a deer in headlights, complete with expression.

"I can see why some of you humans enjoy long showers," she said matter-of-factly with a towel wrapped around her, covering her breasts and her lower regions. "I used up the rest of your shampoo, by the way. Four tails to wash and all."

He didn't respond and her gaze turned amused.

"You're lucky I didn't decide to just forego the towel."

Naruto mumbled something incoherent in reply and nodded absentmindedly.

She rolled her eyes and walked into the living-slash-bedroom. Naruto noticed that although she just showered, she was completely dry, even her hair and tails.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Why aren't you wet?" He slapped his hand over his mouth immediately after.

Satomi turned around slowly, and there was a positively evil smile on her face with a twinkle in her crimson eyes. "Do you want me to be? What do you have in mind?" With that, she laid back on his bed.

Naruto just buried his face in his hands and groaned, blushing furiously at his thoughts. "I mean, you're dry even though you just finished showering!"

"Puberty's a bitch," she laughed in response and sat up. She took some pity on him and answered, "I'm originally a being of fire. I used chakra to produce heat on my body to dry myself quickly. Now turn around unless you want some really good eye candy."

Naruto quickly spun around and heard the rustling of cloth, forcing his blush to die down.

"Alright, I'm done," she said smugly after a few minutes.

When he turned around, she was in her clothes, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

He cleared his throat. "Visit to the old man's?"

She nodded and transformed herself into her smaller fox form, earning an inquisitive look from Naruto. She leapt onto his shoulder and nipped at his ear in response as they made their way out.

* * *

"Ah, Naruto, I didn't expect to see you so soon again," the Hokage said amiably from behind his desk. He had already changed back to his normal white and red robes. "You spoke well earlier, just like a natural leader."

"Hehe. Thanks, ojii." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"So what can I do for you?"

"You know those pensions I've been saving up?"

"Oh, you're finally going to use it, eh?" the Sandaime asked with relief. "I really didn't approve of you just barely scraping by. I wish I had been more stubborn than you on the matter, but I don't think that's possible for anyone," he joked lightly. He began rummaging through his desk as Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Ah, here we are." The old man pulled out a small scroll.

"Eh? What's the scroll for?"

"Your money's sealed in here, Naruto-kun. It's been piling up over the years. You didn't expect me to just leave it sitting around in the open, did you? And you made it perfectly clear that you only trusted me with the money, so the bank is out of the question." The Third chuckled. "Though you do realize the money's been coming out of the bank."

Naruto blinked. "I thought it was just some pension since I was living only as a minor," he said, remembering the old man's words from years earlier.

"Forgive me, Naruto-kun, but that was a small lie." The old Hokage once again activated the privacy seals around the room. "Since you now know everything, it's safe to let you know that the money has been coming out of your parents' joint account. I would've also let you live in the house they lived in, but it would have caused suspicions to arise if a child suddenly moved into Namikaze Minato's house."

"Oh…" Naruto blinked a few times. "…Makes sense, I guess," he shrugged. "No big deal. I probably shouldn't move in there just yet, huh?"

The Third shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but that's correct. Give it a few more years."

"Yeah, I'll just deal with it all later on," the blond breathed out.

_'Too many life changing news, dammit.'_

"So…how much do I have saved up in that scroll?"

"Well, let's take a look."

The Sandaime unrolled the scroll and checked the number displayed, under the kanji that read "kane". He whistled and double-checked the calculations.

"Taking only a minimalist average of sixty thousand ryou a month out of a hundred thousand a month, saving the rest over roughly four years and ten months means you have…yes, this is correct. You have a little over two million ryou stored in here."

Naruto's eyes became like dishes. "Two million? In _that_ little thing?" The Sandaime nodded amusedly. "…That's a lot of ramen," he couldn't help saying.

The old man laughed along with the blonde, and the fox on his shoulder rolled her eyes and nipped his ear again.

"Come here, Naruto. I should teach you how to unseal your money."

"Yatta! New jutsu!" The boy shot like a bullet to the Hokage's desk.

The Sandaime felt like he was giving a new toy to a toddler and laughed quietly. "Alright, let's start with unsealing your money as an example. Just gather chakra to your hand and hover it over the kanji like so…" Naruto watched the grandfatherly man do so. "Then send it into the scroll, visualizing exactly what you want, and say **Kaihou**."

There was a small puff of smoke and some bills appeared.

"Coooool." Naruto was grinning excitedly. "Just visualize it?"

The Hokage nodded. "A large part of not only our jutsu, but our lives depends heavily on intent and willpower."

"But ojii, what if I need to put it back?"

"Oh, sealing it?" Naruto bobbed his head up and down. "That is much more complicated and requires quite a bit more time than we have. One has to learn an entirely new language, so to speak," he said, pointing to symbols drawn around the kanji and in various places on the scroll.

Naruto deflated like a balloon. The Sandaime smiled apologetically as he rolled up the scroll and handed it to him. "Could you teach me if you have the time?" the blond piped up.

"Perhaps. You should ask Kakashi to teach the three of you. I believe he knows some elementary sealing."

An idea came to the old man.

_'If I could only find Jiraiya…'_

Another thought came to his mind, one of a much more serious nature. "Speaking of seals," he said slowly with a serious tone. His two guests froze as he looked towards the fox. "Kyuubi, may I speak with you?"

The fox narrowed her eyes, jumped backwards off Naruto's shoulder, and he transformed her in midair into her human form. When she landed, she demanded, "What do you want, old man?"

The Sandaime held up his hands. "Peace, Kyuubi. I have news you will find welcome." The old man knew he was taking a big gamble.

_'Minato-kun had this in mind though, and I trust his decision.'_

"Actually, her name's Satomi now," piped up Naruto, to the Hokage's surprise. "So what's this good news?"

The Third took a deep breath and said very carefully, "The Yondaime had another part to his plan when he sealed you into Naruto." Satomi nodded slowly, silently telling him to continue. "When you mentioned that the two of your souls were merging somewhat, you weren't far from the whole truth. However, rather than think of your souls mingling as one, imagine that they are actually stuck together like two halves to a whole."

"Eh" Naruto spoke up. "I don't get the difference."

But Satomi's face turned very, very neutral.

The Sandaime clapped his hands together and turned to Naruto. "Basically, your souls look like this. They are touching, so to speak, which allows the exchange of powers and traits. However, they are still two separate things."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, somewhat understanding. "But what're you getting at, ojii?"

Satomi spoke quietly. "You are proposing…can it really be possible?"

The Third nodded solemnly and moved his palms away from each other. "Minato-kun implemented this seal with that in mind. As I said earlier, intent plays a large role in what we do."

"And his intent was…" Satomi could hardly believe it, and Naruto was beginning to catch on.

"His teacher, my former student Jiraiya, was there to execute the second part. After your soul was sealed, your earthly body returned to normal, its time unchanged because of your power. Minato-kun had designed a unique seal to house it, something involving a constant feed of chakra from the earth's living energy and what he referred to as a mimic of cryostasis."

"Cryo-wha?" came from Naruto.

"Suspended animation," Satomi breathed in response.

The Sandaime gave his confirmation. "Your body has been resting in perfect condition, sealed in the Hokage Monument, directly above the Yondaime's head."

Silence reigned. Naruto looked towards Satomi in amazement; she was barely breathing.

"Why?" she choked slightly. "Why did he do all this? What purpose did he have in mind?!" She was half shouting now, her chakra rising and her tails flicking. "Why do all this for a demon?! For a tool of destruction?! I demand to know what he was thinking! Was I to become your new weapon? Was it some fleeting fancy or ambition to chain a being like myself? Or perhaps it was to shackle me to the boy out of some obligation? _Tell me_."

The aged man looked at her calmly and said quite simply, "It was because Namikaze Minato was a man who believed in second chances."

She stopped and regarded him with unhidden shock. "…I…I cannot believe there are people like that in this world," she mumbled. "I can scarcely believe it…"

The man whose family she had destroyed, whose village she had ravaged, whose world she had been let loose upon, had deemed it fit to give her a second chance at life.

_'Did he actually consider…that we did not ask for our circumstances?_' Satomi could feel in her heart another human emotion. _'This…is gratitude, isn't it?'_

Naruto began laughing. "Wow…dad really kicked ass, didn't he?"

The Third chuckled and even Satomi let out a small laugh. "That he did," the old man smiled.

"This is a good thing, right? Really good! Now Satomi won't have to rely on my Kage Bunshins to be out in the world!" He turned to her. "You won't have to ever go back into the seal!"

_'Even the boy I helped condemn is happy for me and I can't understand it. One moment, he is quick to blame me, and every moment after that, he shows me kindness. Like father, like son, I suppose.'_ She smiled down at him. _'Maybe humans aren't so bad after all.'_

Naruto turned towards the Sandaime. "So, so, how do we get her out and back in to her body?"

"Eager to get rid of me, I see," she quipped lightly.

Naruto paled slightly and put his hands up. "Nonono! I didn't mean it like that! I just…err…I'm just…happy for you. I dunno," he mumbled.

_'Happy for the person who practically ruined my life. I really am happy for her. I'm crazy, aren't I?'_

The other two occupants of the room laughed softly. The Hokage's face, however, soon turned apologetic.

"Unfortunately," he spoke, "the whole ordeal is extremely complicated. From what we theorized, Naruto's seal can be dissolved in three ways: one is making a deal with the Shinigami, since that's originally how the seal was made. Of course, when dealing with the Shinigami, a soul must always be offered," he said darkly.

Naruto shivered and shook his head furiously. Satomi didn't look enthusiastic either.

"The second way is to unravel the seal, but we had no idea where to even begin. Jiraiya isn't even here in the village and I haven't heard from him in years." The Sandaime paused.

"Oi, ojii. You said there were three ways. What's the last one?" Naruto demanded.

The old man grimaced. "I wish I'd only said two ways," he spoke with a burdened voice. "The third way we devised is also the most risky." He stopped, grasping at words. "The most accurate way I can describe it…you would have to rip your soul away from each other." Naruto and Satomi both winced at the thought. "I forbid you two from even considering this. We figured that, along with the low success rate, the risks include permanently damaging or destroying both your souls. Naruto's body could also be obliterated, since you would have to flood the seal with both of your chakra." Naruto gulped. "And that's just getting Satomi's soul out. To return it back into her original body, we would need some sort of containment field and a way to guide it back into her body. Otherwise, her soul may be lost to who knows where."

"We wouldn't require a seal or some form of it?" she asked.

"I don't think so," the Hokage replied. "It's an empty husk right now and it _is_ your original body after all; once your soul enters it, it should affix itself just fine."

Satomi nodded and grew quiet. _'It's too dangerous at this point. I can wait for this Jiraiya character to get his ass back here.'_

She was pretty sure she was just trying to be optimistic.

"Fuck it, let's do it."

They turned to Naruto, who had a dead serious look.

"You said so yourself, ojii: it's all about intent and willpower."

"I didn't say it was _solely_ intent, Naruto," he replied gravely. "I know you have good intentions, but I cannot let you risk so much."

"And I know you're trying to protect us, Sandaime-ojii, but I think that decision is up to us. It's our souls and our bodies we're talking about here."

"Naruto, don't be foolish," the old man tried to reason. "No one here doubts your courage and determination. You have nothing to prove."

"It's not about proving anything," he countered. "I want to do this, dammit!"

Satomi was torn. On the one hand, she didn't want to risk Naruto's well-being and life, but on the other hand, the opportunity of a lifetime was right in front of her. _'I can't take chances with Naruto; he and his father have done so much already, but…after so many decades, I would have true freedom again, free from the tendencies of a Death God.'_

She swallowed and interrupted the argument.

"No," her voice rang out. "I agree with the old man, gaki. I can't be selfish and let you do this with no regard to your—"

She disappeared in a plume of smoke. Stunned, the Hokage turned towards Naruto, who had dispelled the Shadow Clone. "And both of you forget I can be more stubborn than you two combined." Before the Sandaime could move to stop him, Naruto growled out, "Old man, you better go get her body, bring it here, and set up that containment field you were talking about." The Hokage opened his mouth, but Naruto interrupted him. "Either you do it now, or you can knock me out and I'll do it myself after I wake up without your help."

The Sandaime stopped and looked into Naruto's eyes, and he felt he was looking into the past.

_"You can argue all you want, saru-jiji, but I'm doing this, and if I need to, it'll be without your help."_

_'He is no doubt your son, Minato-kun.'_ He sighed heavily and nodded. He quickly deactivated the privacy seals and leapt out the window with a speed that belittled his age.

Naruto closed his eyes and brought a hand to his temple; Satomi was giving him hell.

_**"****You idiot! Fucking **_**idiot**_** brat! Learn some goddamned patience and think things through! You could **_**die**_**! **_**We**_** could die! Are you listening to me, Naruto?! You don't need to do this, you righteous little prick! Unlike you, I can wait for a good thing! Naruto! Damn you, stop ignoring me!" **_

Her voice roared in fury and Naruto grimaced as his head began pounding like war drums.

_'Holy shit, she wasn't kidding.'_ He winced. _'This is one hell of a headache.'_

_**"****And it'll get worse if you don't listen to me and stop this dim-witted plan of yours!"**_

Naruto grit his teeth and began humming to try and take his mind off of Satomi's wrath.

**_"_…**_**Oh you miserable little shit."**_

The pounding in his head increased tenfold.

The Third returned, carrying a bundle in his robes carefully. He reactivated the seals around his office and noticed Naruto's pained face. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun? What's wrong?"

"She's giving me a freakin' big headache. Sorry, ojii, but could you hurry it up? If she keeps this up, I could pass out."

The old man nodded and moved towards Naruto, setting down the contents of the bundle in front of the blond and then reactivating the privacy seals around his office. The pounding lessened in the teen's head stopped when the body of a beautiful red-furred vixen was revealed. "She can't have been more than a year old," the Third murmured quietly. He retrieved some wet ink and moved to dip his finger in it. "Let's see if I still remember most of this."

**"That will not be necessary." **The air around them practically froze and the lights dimmed. Naruto's headache ceased immediately and he heard a quiet gasp in the back of his mind.

The Sandaime watched in amazement and a little fear as a giant white-haired, white-robed specter materialized in front of them.

"The Shinigami?!" the old man exclaimed.

The deity smiled wickedly. **"This is your lucky day, mortals. A soul has come forward and offered himself to undo the seal in question."**

"What?!" Naruto yelled, steadfastly ignoring his fear of the powerful apparition. "Whose soul?!"

The Third looked on helplessly with a bad feeling; he had an idea who.

**"He does not wish to burden you with that knowledge, child."**

Naruto fumed, challenging the Death God with a glare, to which it returned a wicked and amused grin.

The Sandaime put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let it go, Naruto. Respect the wishes of the dead."

**"Indeed," **the Shinigami laughed hollowly. **"That makes three souls so far for your sake, Namikaze Naruto. You would do well to not let their sacrifices be in vain."**

Naruto grit his teeth in frustration.

The Death God laughed again and reached towards the boy with a shadowy claw. When the translucent limb entered his body, Naruto felt a deathly chill emanate throughout his body and soul. Then the claw gave a sharp yank and the blond screamed as he felt a terrible, empty pain. It was as though half his existence was torn away from him. In the recesses of his mind, he could hear Satomi cry out as well. Naruto collapsed to his knees and he watched in morbid fascination with half-lidded eyes as a pale blue spirit was pulled out of his body. Satomi's voice and presence echoed in his mind as the Shinigami finished extracting her soul, and then it placed her inside her vulpine body.

There was a blinding flash of light, and the Sandaime and Naruto recoiled. When they could see once more, the body of the fox glowed red, then blue, then orange and stopped. The fur shivered and the entire form began to transform in front of them. The body lengthened, almost all the fur receded, three additional tails grew, until at last, Satomi's human form was lying before them, unconscious.

**"It is done,"** breathed the Shinigami. **"I, the God of Death, grant two kitsune hybrids upon this world, one with the other, their spirits divided and their destinies entwined." **It stared at Naruto first, its eyes piercing him with an all-knowing gaze. Then it turned to the Sandaime and smiled a horrible smile. **"I will see you again soon, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Until then."**

And with that, the Death God cackled and faded away.

The air began slowly turning warm as Naruto swayed back and forth. "I think I'm going to be sick," he muttered before he fell forward, unconscious before he hit the floor with a soft thud.

Sighing, the elder man moved towards a bookcase and pushed it aside, revealing a small hidden room, designed as a built-in living area. "Getting way too old for this shit. I need a vacation," he muttered as he moved the two unconscious people one by one onto a small bed.

_'I have no idea how long it'll take them to recuperate. A few hours? The whole night?'_ He sighed again. _'Good thing only the Hokage knows about and can open this room.'_ He looked down at the sleeping pair; he had put them back-to-back.

_'Tempting to do otherwise just for their reactions,' _the old man couldn't help think amusedly, but shook his head. He closed the makeshift door, took down the seals, and continued his duties as Hokage.

* * *

Both Naruto and Satomi stirred and awoke, each knowing who was behind them but not knowing where they were.

"…I feel like shit."

"You look like it too."

"Ha. Ha. Funny. Damn fox."

"You're the one who got us into this mess. Damn gaki."

"You're the one who went ape shit on Konoha and got yourself sealed in the first place."

"You're the one who couldn't be patient until we had a sure solution."

"I get the feeling that we'd still end up like this, though."

"Surprisingly, you have a point."

"You complaining about this whole thing?"

"Hell no." A small silence. "…Thanks, Naruto."

"…Don't thank me. Thank those three souls that Shinigami bastard mentioned." His voice grew heavy. "I wonder who they were."

"Whoever they were, we should be grateful. What's done is done and we owe them a lot."

"I guess so." His heart still felt burdened. "I just really hate sacrifices."

Satomi made a sound of agreement and held her hand in front of her face. As she flexed it, she spoke quietly, "I have my own body again. For decades, I haven't had full freedom of my life. Except starting now, it's with a human-touched soul."

"It's not all that bad, is it?"

She closed her eyes and smiled slightly. "No, I suppose it isn't." She got off the bed and was a little dazed. "I think we should go back to your apartment and get some more rest." She moved towards the door and felt a strange, nagging feeling in her chest.

"I think you're…right…" Naruto faltered as he felt the same sensation. "What the hell?" he mumbled. As Satomi moved further away from him, the sensation increased. She stopped at the door and turned to look at Naruto.

"You too?"

Naruto nodded warily. "Feels like…I'm missing something."

"Like emptiness," she supplied, growing cold inside.

"Yeah," he agreed, his eyes widening. He got up and walked towards her, and the feeling of hollowness ceased. "…Fuck," he cursed.

"Fuck," she repeated. "It's like we're still sealed together," she snarled, "only in this case, if we move too far away from each other…"

"What's the worst that could happen?" Naruto tried to joke lightly.

Satomi gave him a deadly look. "We could go insane if this feeling of emptiness overwhelms us."

Naruto grimaced and recalled the Shinigami's words. "He…it…whatever…it said something like 'their spirits divided, their destinies entwined.'"

"Makes sense if it split our souls apart," she growled. "And this overblown side effect practically ensures our destinies are entwined. I hate how the universe works."

"…Earlier…you mentioned being shackled to me…" he recalled hesitantly. "This doesn't help, does it?"

She sighed. "I said that mostly out of anger. If your father really wanted to shackle me, he wouldn't have gone through such convoluted means."

"Still…"

"Let it go. Believe me, there are worse circumstances to be in. Yes, even worse than sharing an existence with a hopeless ramen junkie."

"Hey!"

She smirked at his indignation. "We'll just have to make do, right?"

"I guess…"

Despite her words, Satomi still felt uneasy. It continued even after they read the note the Hokage left on their side of the door saying that they were welcome to stay the night here and he'd be by first thing in the morning to let them out when the coast was clear, and as she was laying sideways on her side of the bed, she contemplated the future while Naruto slept soundly beside her.

* * *

"Babysitting!" announced Kakashi cheerfully as he poofed into view of his three students, surprising them.

Team Seven had been waiting near the logs of Training Ground Seven, since Kakashi never told them when and where exactly they were supposed to meet. They had all just wandered into the clearing around ten with the same idea and the same thought: _'He's going to be late again.'_ To the jounin's credit, though, he was only an hour late.

"Babysitting?" Sakura repeated, confused.

"Yep! Our first mission together is to babysit at a small local daycare. The caretakers think they're getting sick and so, they wanna take the rest of the day off because of the risk of infecting the kids."

"Why couldn't they get someone else to take over?" asked Naruto, a little peeved. "Why get a team of ninja do this?"

"Because they couldn't find anyone on such short notice and also because this qualifies as a D-rank mission, perfect for the aspiring genin team to promote teamwork and people skills. And every mission helps out the village with funds and popularity, not matter how menial." Kakashi gave an eye-smile. Even Satomi, perched on Naruto's head, looked annoyed. "You sure you wanna bring the fox? She might have fleas or bite the kids."

Satomi's fur bristled as she barked angrily at the jounin. _'Fleas?! Me?! You cyclopean asshole, if only I were in my human form…'_

Sasuke rubbed his forehead as Naruto began yelling at their sensei. "Where is this daycare?" he grit out, ending the blond's tirade.

Kakashi's eye crinkled even more. "That's the spirit! It's located a couple of blocks from…"

* * *

Monsters. Hair-grabbing, drooling, clawing, screaming monsters. Team Seven faced down a great challenge, from months-old infants to precocious toddlers.

"Naruto, put Akemi down and help me get Kenji's clothes!"

"I've tried! She doesn't want to, watch!" The blond set down the little three-year old brunette with pigtails.

"Ruto-nii, up!" the toddler immediately clung to his leg. "Up, up!" Her voice gradually became more insistent and whining in tone.

"Fine," huffed Sakura. "Just help me look for his clothes. Kenji-kun, stop running around! Good boys don't run around without clothes on!" The rebellious five-year-old just giggled madly and streaked around the room. "Minami-chan, share those blocks with Chigura-chan," she admonished, spotting the four-year-old girl in overalls take building blocks from another three-year-old in a sundress.

"Kyou and Hyou are finally asleep," said Sasuke in a low, tired voice as he walked into the room, flecks of baby formula on his blue shirt. A redheaded two-year-old girl barreled up to him, crying.

"Sake-nii, Jouji took my bunny again!" she wailed.

Sasuke sucked in a long breath and exhaled, and he bent down to pick her up. "Alright, Risa-chan, let's go find him." He had a six-year-old troublemaker with dark brown curls to find. "Sakura, aren't those Kenji's pants hanging from the ceiling fan?" he called before he made his way into the backyard.

Sakura cursed very softly, annoyed that she hadn't thought to look up. _'When did that little nudist fling those up there anyway?!'_

"Ruto-nii, can I play with Tomi-chan now?" Akemi pleaded.

"Sorry, but no, Akemi-chan," Naruto said patiently yet again. "Tomi-chan isn't a toy and she's resting outside." Said fox had immediately made her way outside when the horde of children had her in their sights. She was perched on a high branch on a tree in the backyard near Kakashi, who was more than happy to relax against the bark, read his little orange book, and let his students gain some valuable life experience.

Akemi pouted and gave him a look similar to that of a kicked puppy. "Please, Ruto-nii? Pleeeaaase?"

Naruto grimaced and used every ounce of willpower he had to turn her down yet again. He was distracted enough when he saw Minami knock down Chisame's block tower, causing her to cry. "Minami-chan, I saw that. That's the last straw; go sit in the corner." The temperamental girl sulked and sat down in the empty corner of the room, facing the wall. Naruto moved to Chisame and rubbed her back. "It's okay, Chisame-chan, I'll help you build a new one."

"Sorry, Naruto, but I need to you to—oh, never mind, here it is," Sakura said dryly and she reached behind a couch and pulled out a small shirt. Now she had to catch Kenji.

_'Damn the fact Kakashi forbade Naruto from using Kage Bunshin. "A true ninja doesn't take the easy way out," he said. And he's sitting outside reading porno! Shannaro…'_

Sasuke walked back in, carrying a now-smiling Risa clutching her stuffed bunny tightly in one arm, and in the other arm, he held a wriggling Kenji around the waist. Jouji trudged in behind him, sullen at his spoiled fun.

"Figured you need this," her crush said humorlessly.

Sakura gave him a grateful smile and proceeded to put down the boy's clothes while she had the chance.

"Sake-nii, Sakura-nee, I'm hungry," Risa proclaimed. A chorus of "Me too" rose from all the children present.

'_Ah, crap.'_

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted across the room. "Can you cook something for the kids?"

"Only if they have cup ramen!" came his reply.

Sakura growled in frustration. "Figures he only knows how to make cup ramen," she muttered to Sasuke, who scoffed amusedly. "Sasuke-kun, can you and Naruto get all the kids ready for lunch while I make something?"

Sasuke nodded and set down a now fully-clothed Kenji, who pouted at the lack of expressive freedom. He moved towards Naruto, still carrying Risa. "Dobe, we have to get the kids cleaned up."

"Hai hai, Sake-nii," Naruto waved him off, putting the finishing touches on the block creation. "There you go, Chisame-chan! Better than a tower, it's a castle!"

"Yay! Thank you, Naruto-nii-chan!"

"No problem. Now let's get you guys ready for food before Sake-nii gets mad. Minami, you too!" He ushered them to the bathroom.

Sasuke gave a long suffering sigh under his breath. _'Figures the one who acts like a child gets along with children easily.'_

He had admit, though, as he corralled the rest of the kids into the bathroom, it wasn't as bad as when they first started the job a couple of hours ago; Team Seven was as lost as chickens without their heads.

_'I'm half reconsidering the whole "reviving the clan" thing if this is what I have to deal with,'_ he thought dryly.

Sasuke's thoughts were halted when he heard splashing and loud giggling from multiple voices. He rushed to the bathroom and felt a headache coming back. Apparently, the children had decided to start a water fight: all of them versus Naruto, even Akemi, who had stopped clinging to him in order to join the watery carnage. The blond's face and the majority of his clothes were dripping.

_'I take that back; looks like even Naruto's getting impatient.'_

Indeed, the blond's eyes were closed and he had a tight smile, its tension only noticeable to Sasuke. "Whoever's not all cleaned up in three minutes gets no lunch," spoke Sasuke, brooking no argument and setting down Risa.

Eight pairs of eyes widened and they quickly scrambled to get cleaned up. Naruto gave Sasuke a look of gratitude and he just smirked in return. The children ran to the dining area and the two genin followed.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, set the plates, please. I'm almost finished." Sakura was currently rolling up sushi. On the stove, eight pieces of lightly fried mackerel were sitting on a frying pan. "Also, there should be a container of salad in the fridge."

Sasuke washed his hands first and retrieved the vegetables. "That was fast," he commented as he placed the container onto the counter. Naruto finished washing his hands and proceeded to set the table.

"Huh?" Sakura asked absentmindedly. "Oh, the food. Yeah, most of it was readily prepared. Looks like the caretakers heated the rice in the morning and kept it warm, and the fish and stuff for the sushi were sitting in the fridge in containers marked for today."

"Hn," he grunted softly, watching her wrap the last roll. "Here, I'll cut it."

"Oh." Sakura moved out of the way. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

He gave another "Hn," and began cutting up the sushi.

Sakura smiled and flushed a little, and then moved to check the salad. "Still fresh," she declared after inspecting it closely, and began distributing it on the plates. Naruto was keeping the kids' attentions occupied by juggling fruits from a nearby basket. Two apples and an orange flew through the air as the kids clapped and laughed.

Finally, all the food was laid out and there was a loud "Itadakimasu!" followed by chewing and chopsticks clicking together.

"Chew with your mouths closed," Sakura reminded sternly. The chewing grew quieter.

"I don't like tomatoes," Minami declared, eyeing one of the grape tomatoes on her plate.

Before Sakura could admonish her, Sasuke suddenly said, "I'll take it." His teammates turned their heads at him. He looked away and muttered, "I like tomatoes."

Naruto snickered and Sakura just smiled.

Later, with their hungers satiated, the children began to grow drowsy. As Sasuke went upstairs to make sure the twin infants were still sleeping, Naruto and Sakura began laying down futons on the spacious living room floor.

As the children lay down in their respective beds, Risa spoke up. "Sakura-nee, can you tell us a story?"

Akemi looked at Naruto excitedly. "Or Ruto-nii can sing us a lullaby!"

Naruto chuckled weakly. "Um…I don't think that's a good idea. I can't sing."

"I'll sing you guys a lullaby my mom used to sing for me, how's that?" Sakura replied.

All the kids voiced their enthusiasm and laid their heads on their pillows.

Sakura took a deep breath and began singing softly of a waltz.

'_Wow. Sakura's got a really nice singing voice,'_ Naruto thought, watching raptly and listening to bittersweet words of parting and memories of joyous embraces.

Sasuke had been coming down the stairs and stopped at the bottom as he watched and listened to his teammate sing of midsummer constellations and secrets words of a spell.

Kakashi and Satomi peeked into the room, curious at the lyrics of being unable to let go of another's hand despite the passage of time.

_'Well I'll be damned,'_ thought Kakashi as he chuckled softly.

Each one of the children's eyes began fluttering and closing. A few yawned and smiled contentedly at the invoked thoughts of becoming a star someday.

Sasuke found himself closing his eyes, imagining his mother singing a lullaby for him as a toddler as his teammate drew the song to a close with light, life, and love.

Sakura finished, looking down at the sleeping children with satisfaction. She looked around to the rest of her audience and blushed heavily. Naruto and Kakashi were grinning and pointing their thumbs up, Sasuke had a soft smile on his face that she had never seen before, and Satomi gave a quiet, appreciative bark.

"Mission complete," whispered Kakashi. "The caretakers just got back from the hospital. They took some herbal medicine and are wearing surgical masks, so they'll take over from here. You guys did well." He motioned for them to come along. "Let's head back to the administration building."

Team Seven moved to the door and looked at their temporary wards one last time. "I'm kinda gonna miss them," Naruto said softly. Satomi climbed onto his shoulder.

"Hn," Sasuke uttered, but he was smiling. Sakura nodded with her eyes a little shiny. They leapt away and the children slept on peacefully.

* * *

"Congratulations on your first success, Team Seven," the Sandaime smiled as he handed each member ten thousand ryou.

"It was a breeze," grinned Naruto.

Sasuke and Sakura both scoffed and thanked the Hokage. "I feel so domestic," muttered Sasuke.

"You were so good with the babies, though, Sasuke-kun," replied Sakura softly, her face a little flushed.

"Hn. It was better than dealing with brats who can't sit still. Babies' needs are simpler."

Sakura giggled. "That's true. I'm kinda surprised none of us lost patience."

"I'm sure each of you came close," grinned Kakashi. "But it wouldn't have been good for our reputation, ne?"

Naruto glared at the jounin and Satomi rolled her eyes. "You didn't even do shit, Kakashi-sensei."

"That's right, sensei!" Sakura shouted. "You have no right to talk!"

"Aww, my students are so mean to me." He turned to Sasuke, who just gave him a dry glare. The Sandaime and others present chuckles at the team's antics. Kakashi sighed dramatically. "And here I was going to train you guys a little after the mission was over." As the three perked up, Kakashi thought, _'Too easy.'_

"What? Train us in what?" Naruto was practically jumping. Satomi rolled her eyes again.

"Nah, since you guys were so mean to me, I'll let you guys train each other." Kakashi gave one of his eye-smiles. "Meet me tomorrow morning at the same place. Ja ne!" He waved cheerfully and disappeared in smoke before anyone could stop him.

Sasuke growled in frustration as Naruto yelled, "Aw man! Damn bastard!"

"He's supposed to be our teacher! What does he think he's saying?! Train ourselves?" Sakura threw up her hands.

The Hokage just looked at them and smiled. "Yes, he is your teacher, but he's not your only teacher." He looked at each of them pointedly. "People grow stronger with the help of each other. Share your strengths and cover each other's weaknesses, so that you may become a better team." Another genin team walked in. "Ah, please excuse me. I need to get back to work. Good luck, you three."

Team Seven nodded reluctantly and left the building together.

* * *

After lunch at Ichiraku's again, at Naruto's undeniable insistence, the three genin made their way back to Training Ground Seven. They stood around in awkward silence.

"So where do we start?" Sasuke asked.

"Well…I guess we could teach each other jutsu we already know," replied Naruto hesitantly. "I mean, I've got Kage Bunshin and Sasuke's got the big fireball thingie."

"Goukakyuu," Sasuke corrected with annoyance in his voice. "And a variation of it. The theory behind it, anyway."

"Okay, so Sasuke has two kickass fire jutsu. How bout you, Sakura?" Naruto turned to her.

She looked at the ground, feeling ashamed. "I…just know the three elementary ones."

Sasuke clicked his tongue and Naruto frowned a little. "Ah well," the blond shrugged. "We'll just have to teach you what we know. Hey teme, you go first. Kage Bunshin's a little more dangerous, I think."

"Dangerous, how?" Sasuke asked tightly. Kage Bunshin seemed like an extremely useful technique to know.

"Um…hang on, lemme try to remember what it said…" Naruto muttered, concentrating. "It was something like…how your chakra gets split among your clones…and your conscious? And then the bad thing about all that is…"

"Chakra exhaustion," Sakura supplied, comprehending the theory. "Kage Bunshin are solid clones capable of their own thought. So it makes sense it would require a large amount of chakra to begin with as well as being able to copy your own mind, so to speak."

"Um…yeah!" Naruto grinned. His teammates sighed and Satomi nipped his ear. "Ow. Oh and it also said you could go insane, I think."

"I would imagine so, if you're multiplying your mental processes," Sasuke said wryly. "How are you able to handle it then? Simple-mindedness?" he smirked.

Naruto gave him the finger. "No, teme, I just deal with it. It's hard to explain." The blond shrugged, then his face turned pensive. "Plus…it's a more than a little disturbing to deal with them dying."

His teammates paled slightly. "What do you mean?" Sasuke demanded.

"When they disappear, you get their memories…including how they disappear." Naruto shivered. "My first one…I was so happy and we started messing around and then I hit him and…he…I remember being there one moment, feeling the hit, and then…nothing. No cold, dark place, no bright light, just…nothingness."

Sasuke and Sakura both swallowed at his empty tone in spite of themselves.

"S-so that means you have a lot of chakra, huh?" Sakura said quietly, changing the topic but still feeling inferior.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe my parents were kickass ninja," he said lightly. "My control's shit, though."

"Your chakra coils grow with use," Sasuke spoke up. "Remember our lessons?"

Sakura nodded, but not Naruto.

"Nope," he quipped. "I was probably too busy sleeping."

They rolled their eyes. "Just use chakra more to train and expand your coils," Sasuke said to Sakura. "Why waste the time to think you're weak when you could be getting stronger?"

Sakura blinked and nodded firmly. _'I'll become strong for you, Sasuke-kun.'_

Sasuke nodded back and took a breath. "Alright. Katon jutsu are the most destructive out of the five elements. There's only a handful of defensive ones and even then, they quickly become offensive." Naruto and Sakura looked on raptly. "Goukakyuu is one of the most basic taught by my clan," his jaw tightened, but he continued, "and the seals are like so," he slowly demonstrated the hands seals and ended with _tora_. "After you form the seals, gather air and chakra into your lungs, let it flow up your esophagus and expel it through your mouth. The more chakra and air you have, the longer the fireball will last."

"What's the purpose of putting your hand to your mouth when you expel it?" Sakura asked.

"It's to help focus the blast. Otherwise, it's more widespread and you could end up burning your mouth. Speaking of which, be careful how you control the chakra. Worst case scenario, you burn your lungs from the inside out."

His teammates paled but looked determined and nodded. Each one leapt back a safe distance from each other. "Ladies first," Naruto called out to Sakura.

She concentrated and made the seals Sasuke had shown her. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" she called out, put her hand to her mouth and blew. A tiny wisp of flame escaped, followed by a sputtering exhale. She coughed a few times. "Feels like I swallowed smoke or something."

"That wasn't bad," Sasuke said mildly. "I didn't see a flame on my first try." There was a little envy in his voice. "Next time, just pump more chakra behind it." Sakura smiled appreciatively at him, then they both turned to Naruto.

"Okay, let's do this!" he yelled and flipped through the seals. Satomi leapt onto the ground and watched. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" Naruto blew hard then choked halfway. He coughed more violently than Sakura did and began pounding on his chest as Sasuke and Sakura ran over.

"Naruto!" they both yelled.

"Are you alright?!" Sakura half-shouted worriedly.

"Ow…" he breathed out hoarsely. They could smell the stench of burnt flesh. Even Satomi was looking at him in alarm. Naruto nodded shakily. "I'm okay," he croaked. "I'm okay."

"Dobe, if you've burned yourself, you're not okay. We need to take you to the hospital."

Naruto shook his head. "Fast healing," he rasped, coughing several more times. "Really fast healing." His voice was becoming clearer.

"It can't be _that_ fast," snapped Sasuke. "Open your mouth."

Naruto complied and his teammates looked in amazement as the area in the back of his mouth changed from a sickly black to an inflammed red, and finally to a normal pink within a few minutes.

"I've never heard of anyone with a healing factor that quick," murmured Sakura.

"Healing that rapidly isn't just healing; it's regeneration," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto oddly.

The blond squirmed under the gaze. "It's a talent," he replied evasively. "Thanks, guys, but you'd better move," he said quickly, preventing any questions. "I'm gonna give it another shot." They quickly got out of the way as Naruto went through the hand seals again.

"Dobe," Sasuke called. "Don't force the chakra so much so quickly. Just let it flow out smoothly."

"Hai hai, bastard-sensei."

The Uchiha made a rude gesture.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" Naruto exhaled. All that came out was warm air and he sulked.

"You weren't kidding. Your control's really shitty."

"Go to hell, teme."

Sakura giggled. "Well, at least we have something to work on. So, Naruto, tell us about how to do Kage Bunshin."

Naruto scratched his head. "Well you use a special cross seal like this," he showed them, "and you use a lot of chakra to create clones. It's like Bunshin and then you…I dunno how to explain it. You make your mind copy itself to put inside the clones. Believe you can be more than one person."

"Again I ask: how did you manage it, dobe?" Naruto looked to the side and mumbled something incoherently. "Huh?"

"I said…I just really wanted it to work." Naruto flushed slightly. "I figured…it was a way for me to never really…be alone." Sasuke and Sakura frowned. Naruto shook his head fiercely and grinned. "Stupid reason, but it worked. C'mon, teme, try it! It's freakin' awesome." His grin faltered a little. "Just ah…don't freak out when he…y'know, disappears."

Sakura shivered, but said, "Good luck, Sasuke-kun. I probably don't have enough chakra for it, so it's all up to you."

Sasuke gave a "Hn" and concentrated all his chakra. He formed the cross seal and envisioned multiple copies of himself. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

In return, he got one regular Bunshin and a splitting headache. He doubled over, clutched his head and groaned.

"Oi, Sasuke, you okay there?!"

"Sasuke-kun?!"

"Fuck," he grit out. "Feels like my brain got up and went in every direction at once."

"Yeah," Naruto grimaced. "I know what you mean. At least you managed to stay upright; when it happened to me, I fell and slammed right into the floor face first." Sasuke snorted. "It'll pass. Give it a couple of minutes." The Uchiha nodded weakly and took a step forward, but stumbled.

Sakura caught him immediately and braced him. "I gotcha, Sasuke-kun," she reassured, ignoring the heat on her face.

"Thanks," he muttered in reply, his face turning a little pink.

_'She smells nice,'_ he couldn't help think.

"Aww, how cute." The blond received twin glares and wilted. "No love for me," he whined. They rolled their eyes. "Well, I'm gonna call it a day here. I'm thinking about looking for a new place to live in."

Sasuke blinked and Sakura gave a surprised look. "What's wrong with the place you live in now?" she asked in curiosity.

Naruto shrugged. "It's a shitty dump," he said nonchalantly. "Time to turn over a new leaf!" He laughed at his small pun, causing his teammates to wince.

"Well, good luck finding a new place," she replied. "I think I'll stay here and practice the Goukakyuu some more." Sasuke looked at her in mild surprise but concealed it.

"Alright. Have fun, lovebirds!" He picked up Satomi and jumped away before either one could hit him, cackling all the way.

"Typical dobe," scoffed Sasuke.

He motioned for Sakura to let him stand alone and she complied, albeit reluctantly. "Are you going to stay and train too?" He nodded. Sakura gathered her courage and asked him, "Afterwards…do…do you want to…go out on a date…with me?" She forced herself to not look down.

Sasuke's face turned neutral as he looked back into her eyes. "…No offense, but…I'm just not interested right now." _'I have to get stronger first.'_

"Oh…that's alright." She finally looked down, hiding the hurt in her eyes. She forced the feelings away and replaced it with determination. "I will become strong enough for you, Sasuke-kun," she blurted before she could stop herself.

The Uchiha heir blinked in surprise, then smiled bitterly. "I appreciate the sentiment, but don't become strong for my sake. Do it for your own." Sakura tightened her jaw and nodded, and then she turned to practice the Goukakyuu no Jutsu more. After watching her attempt it a few more times, he suddenly spoke up again.

"Do you get the feeling Naruto's hiding something?"

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

yokan - a sweet, jellied Japanese dessert made of sweet bean, sugar, and agar

ittekimasu - roughly "I'm leaving"

itterasshai - roughly "take care" or "see you"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh, Satomi, you sap. Admittedly, she was on track to be _tsundere_ when she was still in the planning department...

...What? B-baka. It's not like I like _tsundere_ characters or anything. I just find them entertaining, that's all!

Seriously though, she might be more _kuudere_ in this fic. I'll just let her turn out however she turns out.

I realize the pseudo-release of Satomi may appear rushed and even a little _deus ex_, but I assure you, it wasn't for the purpose of advancing relationships or unleashing someone with God Mode. I will address it in a later Note when the reason becomes relevant.

Teaching the Uchiha bastard Kage Bunshin? Madness. Well, not like he'll succeed anytime soon.

The song Sakura sings to the kids is _Hoshizora no Waltz_ by Kuribayashi Minami. This time, I'm not going to explicitly write lyrics; it inflates the word count, and the Notes are bad enough.


	6. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

A week passed and Team Seven began settling into a rough routine. They would meet Kakashi at various times in Training Ground Seven due to his chronic tardiness and perform diverse D-rank missions, from fishing garbage out of the local rivers to hunting down lost pets.

Naruto still winced every time he thought of prying the daimyo's wife's cat, Tora-chan, off of his face.

After a mission or two, Kakashi would leave them to practice and aid each other in training. Sakura could now blow out a small fireball, though it was hardly impressive, and Naruto still had trouble controlling his chakra enough without burning himself. If his control had been sub-par before, it was absolutely abysmal now.

Satomi strongly suspected it had something to do with their soul separation.

Sasuke had yet to create a successive Kage Bunshin, and lately, began to meditate during their training sessions in hopes of easing the cloning of his conscious. Despite the fact that they were becoming closer as teammates and even friends, Naruto sometimes had a feeling Sasuke and Sakura were wary of him.

On this particular day, Team Seven found themselves in another valuable life experience.

"Push, Mayoi-san, push!"

Kakashi had endearingly volunteered his students for morning hospital aid. Naruto had stayed the hell away from needles, Sasuke had become the center of attention of the female nursing staff, and Sakura, in between shooting death glares at nurses, found an interest in the medical field.

Unfortunately, Satomi had to stay outside the hospital, and both she and Naruto felt the constant nagging hollowness in their beings. Other than that, all went relatively well and quiet for most of the morning, until the three genin found them lucky enough to be called upon for a daunting task…

"You're almost there, Mayoi-san! Keep pushing!"

Assisting in childbirth.

Koizumi Mayoi had been in labor for twenty-two hours and was in the final stages of birth. However, the nursing staff was a bit short, so the members of Team Seven, minus Kakashi, who had mysteriously gone missing as soon as the delivery began, were put through degermation and antisepsis processes, shoved into surgical smocks, and confined to the birthing room to await any necessary orders.

All three genin were shell-shocked at the spectacle. Naruto and Sasuke were both a little on the green side, while Sakura was a deathly white.

"Haruno-san!" barked the midwife. "Get us some clean towels! Uchiha-san, hot water if you please! Uzumaki-san, prepare the baby's clothing! It's crowning!" All of them snapped to attention and quickly did as they were told. "You're doing great, Mayoi-san! Just a little bit more! One more push and your child will be here! Push!"

"I…I can't," the woman panted. "I'm so…so tired… just let me sleep…"

Everyone else looked up in alarm when the various machines hooked up to the exhausted woman began beeping rapidly.

"Hey! _Hey!_" Naruto rushed over and put his face in her line of sight. "Look at me, dammit! Look at me, Koizumi-san!"

The midwife began to protest. "Uzumaki-san, what are you—"

"Koizumi-san, don't you give up!" he yelled, ignoring the midwife. "You hear me?!"

Mayoi's eyes fluttered and she groaned. "Such a loudmouth…"

"That's damn right, Koizumi-san," Naruto couldn't help but smile a little, "so listen well. _Don't give up_."

"But it hurts so much…and I'm so tired…" Even so, the beeping of the machines began to slow.

"I know, Koizumi-san. Well, no, I don't…but I can imagine," he grinned weakly at her causing her to snort softly, "but don't focus on that. Focus on your kid."

"My baby…?"

"Yeah. Focus on…focus on your baby and your future with him. Focus…" he hesitated, collecting his thoughts, "…focus on the things you'll do together. The experiences you'll go through together."

"The future…?" The beeping became more and more stable.

"Yeah. Imagine…imagine being there…uhh…"

"Listening to his first words," Sasuke surprisingly stepped in with a soft voice. "Or watching him take his first steps."

"Or taking him out for strolls and watching him play with other children," Sakura joined in. "Imagine watching him grow up."

"Imagine…" Naruto swallowed thickly. "Imagine…being there to pick him up from school…imagine walking home together…imagine congratulating him when he graduates…"

"I," she whispered with her eyes closed, "I…can see it…" When she opened her eyes, they shone with a fierce, awe-inspiring determination that left the other occupants in the room breathless.

"Well then, Mayoi-san," the midwife spoke with a delighted voice, "give us one more good push!"

The mother-to-be gave a final, pain-filled but unwavering shriek and the sound of a crying infant soon filled the air.

"Congratulations, Mayoi-san," the midwife breathed, blinking back tears, "it's a beautiful baby boy."

As the midwife busied herself to check the baby's vitals and clean him up, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all looked in wonder at the sight of the tiny, bawling infant.

"…Wow," Sasuke breathed. _'But gods, that looked…too painful to describe.'_

"Yeah…" Naruto smiled, blinking rapidly. _'But damn, that's intense! Glad I'm not a woman.'_

"…He's adorable," Sakura cooed. _'But shannaro, I'm going to have to squeeze that out from _there_?! May all the kami help me…'_

The midwife turned to them after handing the baby to her mother. "You three did well. Congratulations also for participating in the miracle of life," she smiled. "I think that's more than enough help you've given us today. Thank you all so very much." She bowed and left the room to inform the husband, who had to be sedated so he could stop panicking.

The worn-out mother also smiled at the three youths and thanked them profusely. The genin gave their blessings and left the new family to bond.

As soon as they left the birthing room, all three collapsed against the wall in unison and slid down, breathing heavily. Their hearts were still pounding furiously.

"…As soon as that beeping started…I got really scared," Naruto admitted, murmuring quietly. "I just…said whatever came to mind…"

"I got really scared too," Sakura whispered. "But you did good, Naruto. Really good."

"I went freakin' brain dead for a second, Sakura," he replied with a mix of a scoff and a laugh. "Thanks for the save, Sasuke."

"Aa. I should've known you really didn't know what you were doing."

"Hey!"

Sasuke grunted as the blond punched him lightly on the arm and Sakura giggled in spite of herself. "Yeah yeah…you're welcome," he relented in a low mutter.

Naruto began laughing, softly at first, but it grew more and more joyous as Sakura joined in as well. Even Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle softly, and the trio basked in their moment together.

Soon after, Team Seven was walking towards the administration building.

"I'm telling you guys, I really got lost! I even ended up in the morgue!" Kakashi half-whined. "Don't you guys pity me even a little?"

"No."

"Not at all."

"Hell no."

"But even the fox wasn't there to help!" the jounin groused. Satomi barked sharply at him from atop Naruto's head.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said tightly as they entered the building. "Satomi isn't allowed in the hospital, much less the birthing room."

"And for cryin' out loud, she's a fox!" Naruto yelled. "What could she have done?!"

"Stress relief?" Kakashi supplied. He got two glares in return, one blue, the other red.

Sasuke sighed loudly as he walked up to the desk and placed the documents in front of a very amused Hokage. "Mission complete."

"So I see," chuckled the old man as he looked through the papers. "Oh my…assistance in a birth? Well done, indeed. They enclosed a little bonus for each of you for that." He handed them their payments and sifted through other requests. "It's barely noon, so I'm betting you'll want another mission. Let's see…another babysitting job, a tour request from travelers, work at the Academy…oh, Tora-chan has escaped again, it seems…"

"No." Everyone paused to look at the blond genin. Naruto had been grimacing at each D-rank mission and twitched at the mention of Tora-chan. "I get the fact that D-rank missions are to help us with teamwork and all, but enough is enough. Why can't we have a C-rank mission or higher?"

"Oi, you little punk!" one of the assisting chuunin yelled out. "What makes you think you kids are ready for a C-rank?! Don't question Hokage-sama's judgment!"

"What, you wanna see what we're capable of?" sneered Sasuke. "Don't make me laugh."

"Why you snot-nosed little—"

"Enough," the Sandaime spoke firmly, stopping the impeding fight. "While you are one of the more advanced genin teams in terms of ability, as Kakashi as noted about your training," the three young ninja looked at their teacher in surprise, "it is still very important that you carry a sufficient amount of D-rank missions under your belt—"

A palm slammed on the table. Everyone looked at Sakura, stunned. The pink-haired girl stared at the old Hokage with a deadly glint in her eyes. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, we've been through precocious toddlers, abundant pollution, homicidal cats, and we've just witnessed a woman squeezing a baby out from between her legs. I'm begging you, we need a break. Please give us a C-rank mission. We won't disappoint."

Naruto and Sasuke just continued staring at their female teammate in stunned amazement. Kakashi coughed slightly and spoke up, "Hokage-sama, if I may say so, it's not orthodox, but a C-rank isn't below them. Plus, they have me to rely on."

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at his last comment.

The Sandaime took a long drag from his pipe and stared down each genin. They looked back unflinchingly and with fierce determination. "…Very well," he relented. "I had the perfect job in mind: an escort and protection mission of a certain individual."

"Had?" Sakura blinked. "You were going to give it to us anyway?"

The old man just winked.

"B-but, Hokage-sama! These kids—"

"Are proud ninja of Konohagakure. Please do not question my judgment, Tatsuo-san." The chuunin grimaced and kept silent, much to the satisfaction of Team Seven. The Sandaime looked to the side towards a hallway. "You can come out now, Tazuna-san."

Team Seven turned to watch a rough, slightly washed-up looking middle-aged man make his way towards them.

"These are the super ninja you promised me? Bah, they look more like a bunch of super brats!" The three genin bristled but the man ignored them, drinking from a sake jug. "Especially the midget with the stupid face, trying to look cool with a fox on his shoulder."

Naruto ground his teeth as his hand inched towards his pouch. "I'm gonna hurt him…just a little bit…"

Satomi bit his ear as Kakashi bopped his head.

"Baka," he muttered. "It's counterproductive to harm the person you're hired to protect."

Naruto just huffed and glared at the man called Tazuna.

"Listen up," he said. "I'm a super important bridge builder from Nami no Kuni, and you guys are going to protect me from bandits or mercenaries or whatever until I finish up my bridge. I'm entrusting my life to you brats, so don't disappoint me!"

They didn't look enthusiastic, but they nodded, determined to prove their worth.

Kakashi clapped his hands. "Alright, I'll give you guys two hours to do whatever you need to get ready. Expect to be out of the village for at least a week. We'll meet in front of the East Wall. Tazuna-san, please make any preparations you need as well."

Everyone nodded and they made their way out of the building.

* * *

"He's hiding something," Satomi declared after Naruto shut the door and she had transformed back. She moved to the fridge and took out a package of raw beef.

They had no luck so far trying to find a new apartment; most villagers wanted to avoid him like the plague, much less have him as a neighbor. Several had tried to cheat him by offering ridiculous rates.

Naruto briefly wondered if the last guy who tried that had fixed that gaping hole in his roof yet. That he had nothing to do with, of course.

At least they had made small changes to their current abode, like getting a futon for Naruto, as he still insisted on her using his bed for more comfort. Naruto also regularly got fresh meat and fruits for Satomi; she now found that she could get hungry once in a while, but ate for the hell of it as well. She did have many years to make up for, after all.

As she sliced through the plastic and began feeding herself, Naruto spoke. "Who? Tazuna?"

"Yes," she replied, chewing on the red meat. "Something doesn't add up and it feels like he's not telling the whole story."

Naruto shrugged and prepared a cup of instant noodles. Unfortunately, his diet remained the same. "What could happen?"

Satomi gave him a patient look and finished the rest of the beef. "Do you need to go out and get anything?"

"Um…maybe a few more weapons. Who knows how many bandits or mercenaries he has after him?"

"Mm. Before you do, I'd like to get something."

"Eh?" he looked at her, bewildered. "What?"

"A change of clothes," Satomi replied dryly, gesturing to her yukata. "I like this outfit, but something different would be nice."

"Okay…" Naruto said hesitantly. "What do you have in mind? More importantly, how are we gonna do that?" He began slurping the noodles.

"I don't know yet, but something that can serve a purpose, not just for looks like this. And I've been thinking about it for awhile, so I already have something figured out: we switch places, so to speak."

"Say wha?" Some instant ramen hung from his mouth.

She rolled her eyes. "You transform yourself into a fox. I'll go and get what I need myself, after making any necessary physical changes, of course." She flicked her tails for emphasis.

"Why can't you just tell me your sizes or something, and I get the clothes for you?"

"Because your sense of fashion is lacking," she stated as though it were a simple fact of life.

He growled and pouted in response. "Fine." He finished up the salty meal, reached into his inner jacket pocket, and took out the scroll that held his money. "A hundred thousand enough?"

"I'm just getting one outfit, you know," Satomi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Shinobi clothing can cost a lot," he shrugged, unfurling the scroll and unsealing the amount. He tucked the scroll back and handed the bills to her.

"You're just trying to be generous," Satomi replied exasperatedly.

Naruto just grinned and Henge'd himself into a fox, similar to Satomi's but with blue eyes. Satomi tucked the money into her obi and concentrated on changing her form. Her fox ears receded into human ones, her tails disappeared, her eyes became a chocolate brown, and the whisker marks on her cheeks vanished. Naruto gave her a questioning tilt of his vulpine head.

"So no one gets any ideas about us. Let's go." The blue-eyed fox nodded and leapt up, aiming to perch on her shoulder. Instead, he crashed right into it and fell to the floor, a little dazed. She snorted. "Hard being a fox even though you're partially one?" she laughed.

He gave an angry bark and tried again, succeeding this time. Satomi just smirked and stepped out of the apartment cautiously, making sure no one saw her.

She made her way to an unmarked shinobi clothing store whose owner was one of the few who tolerated Naruto. A bell rang out somewhere as she slid the door open.

"Irasshai," called the owner gruffly. He was a middle-aged, balding man with numerous scars and an eye patch. He was also missing his right arm; a veteran nin forced to retire. He looked up at Satomi and his visible eye widened slightly. "Kunoichi section's to your left," he muttered then looked back down at a newspaper.

Satomi gave no reply and made her way to the feminine clothing. The shop wasn't small, but it wasn't impressive, either, and the lighting was lacking somewhat. The place was clean though; it just carried a sterile feeling. She scanned the racks and displays, occasionally reaching out with her arm to inspect something closer or feel the material. Five minutes later, she selected some articles of clothing and walked up to the owner in the center of the shop.

"Dressing room's in the back," murmured the shopkeeper, jerking his thumb over his shoulder without looking up. Satomi made a neutral noise in the back of her throat and moved to where he had indicated. She walked into one of the two small rooms, closed the door, and locked it. She dropped her illusion and turned around to face the triple display of mirrors.

As Naruto hopped down to the floor, she spoke, "Unless you want to watch, turn around." The fox hesitated for a second then turned to face the corner of the room, squeezing his blue eyes shut.

Satomi laughed quietly and began untying her obi. It slipped off behind her, where her tails caught it and folded it expertly with ease. As she slipped the yukata off her shoulders, her tails set the obi next to Naruto, who was sweating slightly at the sound of shuffling fabric and the temptation of seeing bare, flawless flesh. She folded the garment neatly with her hands, placed it down, and reached for the clothes she had procured.

First were the pants, black and made of a stretchy but tough material. She met some resistance as she slit a hole in the back for her tails, admiring the strength of the fabric. She pulled it on and it was almost skin-tight, hugging her hips and curves and running down to a few inches above her ankles. A small, sleeveless shirt was next, the same color and made of the same material as the pants. The collar wrapped around right under her throat snugly, but not in a constricting way. Her shoulders were exposed and the hem of the shirt rested slightly above her navel.

After the shirt came the outerwear, which could be described as a pale purple partial kimono with red swirls and trim decorating it. She enclosed it around her, its length running from the top of her breasts down to her knee, where it fanned out slightly, cut with a center split in the back, ensuring her tails would have freedom. A string was tied from the right side through a small loop on the left, closing it around her stomach. She wrapped a black and red obi around her, securing the garment further, and tied a bow in the back. Finally, onto her arms, she pulled on detached sleeves that came with the pseudo kimono. They went up a few inches above her elbow and came loosening down to her wrist. The top portion above the elbows, however, was a mesh design.

Satomi stepped back a little and scrutinized herself. Ignoring the fact that she didn't have and would never wear shoes, she smiled self-satisfactorily and faced Naruto, who was still facing the corner, his ears flicking. "You can stop depriving yourself now."

He turned, looked up at her, and his little eyes widened. After several moments of shocked silence, he gave an appreciative yip and nodded his approval. He jumped onto her shoulder as she picked up her other clothing and activated her illusion again, hiding her vulpine features and any obvious damage to the clothes she was wearing.

As she made her way to the owner's counter, the man looked up and gave her a once-over, his eye neutral and never lingering anywhere. It snapped back up to meet her now-blue gaze. "Most of that is high quality spider silk from the big ones in the Forest of Death. Good choices," he grunted. "I'll make it sixty thousand flat for the whole set."

"Forty thousand," she replied without hesitation. Naruto turned to her questioningly and the man's eyes narrowed.

"I ain't running a charity here, jou-chan." Her face remained impassive and his eyes narrowed. "Fifty-seven thousand."

She smirked, partially because she was technically old enough to be his grandmother. "Maybe not, but you must be doing quite well if you can get your hands on clothes made from onigumo silk," she countered. "Forty-four."

"How do you know I didn't get the silk myself? Compensate myself for my troubles? Fifty-three."

"You're retired with one arm and one eye. Don't fuck with me. Forty-eight thousand."

He grinned savagely, taking no offense, and lifted up his patch, revealing a perfectly normal eye. "Two out of three, jou-chan. Sorry, but that brings you back up to fifty-five thousand."

She returned the grin. "And that gets you a response you cannot refuse: fifty-one thousand ryou with special recommendation to one Uchiha Sasuke." The man looked at her keenly. "You may be doing fair enough, but not as well as if the Uchiha heir pays a visit here with interest in your wares."

"And you are telling me you can sway the opinion of the last Uchiha?" the shop owner asked shrewdly.

"I know the boy personally," Satomi replied simply.

Seeing no lie in her eyes, the seasoned once-ninja nodded. "You have a deal, jou-chan. Pay up."

Smiling smugly, she handed him the amount. "My thanks."

"On the contrary, I must give you mine if you speak truly. I will be expecting a visit from Uchiha soon. Otherwise, I'll have to show you how one arm is perfectly enough to strangle your pretty little neck, jou-chan." He gave her a feral grin.

She shot one back and stepped out of the store, raising her hand behind her.

Naruto still had a stunned look when they returned to his apartment. She set her old clothing on his bed for the time being and he finally transformed back.

"Wha…how'd you…?"

"I am just that cool."

Naruto just sputtered indignantly and she laughed.

"Don't you have stuff to buy? There's an hour left; you should get moving." She shifted into a fox this time and took her usual perch.

He picked up a backpack, left the apartment and locked it, grumbling under his breath about uppity smartass vixens.

* * *

Naruto had to rub his eyes. Twice. He was sure this was the East Wall. He was sure his teammates and Tazuna were standing there looking at him strangely. He was sure he was on time. What he wasn't sure of was if that was really Kakashi standing there next to them.

"How the hell did Kakashi-sensei get here before me?! I know I'm not late!"

"Yeah, we had the same reaction," Sakura said, sweating. "Kakashi-sensei actually got here before any of us. Sasuke-kun even attacked him, thinking he was an impostor."

Sasuke scoffed and turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment, while Kakashi chuckled.

Tazuna looked at the jounin with uncertainty. "Are you sure I'm going to be alright?"

Before Kakashi could reply, Naruto shouted, "Oi, have some faith in the future Hokage and his team!"

Tazuna blinked and pointed to Kakashi questioningly. Naruto's eye twitched. Tazuna blinked again and pointed to Sasuke next. The blond growled. Tazuna hesitated but then pointed at Sakura, who screeched in outrage.

_'Naruto said "his team!" _His!_ Hello?! Pink hair? Feminine face and voice? Budding breasts?! Shannaro, is this old fart senile?!'_

Naruto cried out in frustration. "Me, you moron! I'm the future Hokage!"

"You?" Tazuna asked incredulously. "A super midget brat like you? I'll never believe it," he sniffed.

Naruto vibrated with anger and got ready to charge.

"Naruto, that's enough!" Kakashi said firmly. "Tazuna-san, please refrain from goading your own bodyguards if you want to stay alive. This is our first mission outside of the village, so let's make it a memorable and successful one. We'll travel in a diamond formation. Naruto will take point; he'll be our brawler and meat shield."

Naruto made an incoherent sound.

"I'll take the rear," Kakashi continued. "We may make it to the coastline before sundown, but don't count on it. Now let's move."

Everyone made affirmative sounds and they began traveling.

"So Tazuna-san," spoke up Sakura after two hours of walking and idle chitchat. "You said you were a bridge builder?"

"Uh huh. I'm currently working on one now. It's going to be a super bridge that'll connect Wave to the mainland!"

"For trade purposes?" Sasuke deduced.

Tazuna nodded.

"But isn't Wave near Kirigakure?" Sakura asked. "Why not ask them for help or do trade with them?"

Kakashi chuckled darkly from the back as they walked past a puddle. "Kirigakure isn't known for its hospitality, and I'm putting it very, _very_ mildly."

"Yeah," sighed Tazuna. "Kirigakure won't do a thing to help a weak, baby country like the Wave. That's why I'm building this bridge. Otherwise, my people won't be able to survive."

"But I don't get it," said Naruto, remembering Satomi's earlier words and looking down at her walking beside him. "Who would want to stop the bridge from being built then? Just bandits and mercenaries?"

Tazuna paled and tried to reply, until all five of them heard metal rattling and Kakashi gasping painfully.

"One down."

The genin and Tazuna turned quickly towards the low, menacing voices just in time to see Kakashi get ripped to shreds by a long, spiked chain wielded by two foreign ninja with clawed gauntlets.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted in horror. He froze when the enemies' voices suddenly appeared behind him.

"Two down."

"Naruto, duck!" Sasuke yelled as he flung a shuriken and a kunai in succession and leapt at the two nin. The blond reacted instantly and crouched before the chain could decapitate him. Sasuke's shuriken lodged itself in one of the holes in the chain and continued into a tree. The kunai affixed itself through the hole in the shuriken, keeping the chain to the tree. The Uchiha followed up the attack by launching powerful twin kicks to their heads, causing the chain to break from their gauntlets. They both stumbled, but recovered and doubled back, each slicing at Naruto with their claws. One claw aimed for his left side but didn't penetrate the mesh layer of the clothes the Hokage had gotten him. The other, however, nicked the back of his right hand, causing Naruto to recoil and seethe at the sudden flaring pain. Satomi barked out in alarm.

The two enemy ninja made a rush towards Tazuna and Sakura, who had taken a defensive stance in front of the old man, but froze up as the two ninja came closer and closer. However, they were stopped in their tracks. A perfectly unharmed Kakashi, who appeared right in front of their path, slammed a kunai in each of their necks before they could register the fact he was still alive. He twisted the weapons and ripped them out, and the foes dropped to the ground, dead.

Sakura turned green as she watched them bleed out, the whole situation catching up to her. _'I…I froze…I could've died…they're dead…Kakashi-sensei killed them right in front of me…'_

"Sakura, snap out of it," came the soft voice of her teacher. "You're alright."

She blinked and nodded shakily.

Kakashi looked up towards Naruto, who was thinking the same thoughts as Sakura and clutching his wounded hand. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I should've stopped them earlier. I got you injured because of that." He glanced at the boy's wound and cursed. "There was probably poison on their claws. We need to head back and treat it. This mission is over."

"What?!" Tazuna cried out. He stopped when Kakashi fixed him with a deadly glare.

"Those were _not_ bandits or mercenaries. Those were ninja from Kirigakure, known for not stopping until they've annihilated their target, which was _you_. You never mentioned anything about ninja hunting you, and now one of my students may be dying on a false C-rank mission." Tazuna looked down in a mixture of despair, shame, and hopelessness.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto grunted out. "I'm fine…watch."

They all watched in morbid fascination as Naruto held out his hand. The wound sizzled for several seconds then began to close up. Satomi gave a small bark and jumped onto his shoulder.

Kakashi sighed in relief. _'Right. The power of the Kyuubi no Youko.'_

"Regardless, this mission is now above a B-rank. Tazuna-san, I'm pretty sure of what your reasons were for not applying for a more expensive B-rank request, but because of that, my team is in more danger than they should be."

"Are you saying we're not good enough for this mission?" asked Sasuke with a dark tone. "Despite what just happened here?"

"Don't get cocky, Sasuke," Kakashi growled. "You may have done well, but your teammates understandably froze. We cannot risk this."

"It won't happen again," said a strong voice. They turned to Sakura. "I wanted this mission. _We_ wanted this mission. We _will_ see it done."

"That's damn straight," agreed Naruto, flexing his hand and letting Satomi inspect it. "If we don't risk our lives today, we will some other day. Life of a ninja, right?"

"When the dobe starts sounding smarter than you, Kakashi-sensei, you're really in trouble," smirked Sasuke.

"Teme, I will shit-kick you in the face all the way to Nami no Kuni."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile. _'You'd be right there agreeing with them, ne, Obito?'_

"Alright. We'll see this mission through." Naruto cheered. "But Tazuna-san…I want answers."

Tazuna nodded gravely.

Kakashi sighed and walked over to the carcasses. "Kirigakure no Onikyoudai," he muttered. "You guys have been a lot of trouble." He spoke up without turning around. "I'm going to behead them so we can turn in their bounties. If you don't think you can stomach it, don't watch." He heard none of them move and smiled sadly.

He reached for a scroll on his flak jacket and unsealed a large, serrated knife. He made a small prayer for their souls and held the knife between a _tora_ seal. "**Katon: Gokunetsu no Jutsu.**"

The blade immediately turned red hot and Kakashi held it carefully. He cut the heads off one by one and sizzling filled the air as the necks were cauterized. At least two people retched but no one turned away. When he was done, he stabbed the knife into the earth to let it cool and brought out two blank scrolls.

They watched in fascination as he jotted symbols all over them and placed the heads on blank spaces. "**Fuuin**," he called out while hovering his hands over the heads, and they disappeared into the scrolls with twin puffs of smoke, the kanji for "_kubi_" written in the centers. He also sealed the now-cool knife and rolled them up and pocketed them, and finally, he burned the bodies using Goukakyuu.

"Everyone alright?" They all nodded shakily. "Let's go. Explain as we walk, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna swallowed and licked his dry lips. "Have you heard of Gatou?"

Kakashi paused in his steps a little. "Gatou? Of Gatou Enterprises? One of the wealthiest men in the world?"

"Yeah. On the surface, he's a shrewd businessman, owner of the largest shipping company on the Eastern Sea. But underneath it all," his voice tightening, "he's a scumbag who deals in drugs, extortion, prostitution…you name it. He uses his money to employ ninja, gang members, and anybody with a price to take over businesses and countries." He took a deep breath. "It was nearly a year ago when he set his sights on Nami no Kuni. Before we knew it, our shipping company fell under his control and our economy became his plaything."

"That's why you're building the bridge," Sakura said, understanding. "It'll save your economy and your people."

"That's right," Tazuna replied. "It's not just a super bridge. It's a symbol of hope."

"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto quietly. "Isn't there anything we can do about this Gatou prick?"

"Tazuna-san paid us for protection, not assassination, Naruto," said Kakashi sternly.

"Call it a bonus," shot back Sasuke. Naruto gave a feral grin in agreement.

"My cute students are so bloodthirsty," the jounin sighed.

_'We'll see though, political ramifications be damned.'_

After some time and the sun had begun to set, the air started to get misty. "Looks like we're getting close to the coastline."

"Good," replied Tazuna tiredly. "I have a friend who can transport us over to Nami no Kuni undetected."

They cleared several more meters of trees and were greeted with the sight of the Eastern Sea. The three teens' eyes widened. "Whoa," breathed Naruto.

It was hard to see because of the mist and the darkening light, but the horizon was visible.

"It looks endless," whispered Sakura. Sasuke nodded and soaked in the sight.

"Hey! Over here!" yelled out a faint voice. A man near a boat stood a fair distance away, waving at them. "Tazuna-san! Over here!" The group of five walked towards him. "You're late," he said warily, his eyes darting around the area. "Hurry and get in the boat. We'll be heading under the cover of this mist."

They all complied. "Relax, Kaworu-san," Tazuna grunted as he sat down in the boat.

"I'll relax when I'm safe at home. I still can't believe you talked me into this." The man called Kaworu pushed off the boat and began to row from the back.

"It's for the good of our country."

"I know, I know."

"Are Tsunami and Inari still safe?"

"Yes. No one else knows where they are, and even if they did, they wouldn't give you or your family up."

"You'd be surprised how desperate people can be," Tazuna grimaced.

"Tsunami and Inari?" piped up Naruto curiously.

Tazuna smiled. "Yep. My super beautiful daughter and my super cute ten-year-old grandson."

"You have them in a safe house?" Kakashi asked.

Tazuna nodded. "About half a year ago, we moved to a friend's summer home past the woods on the outskirts of town. Not very big, but it has a super view of the sea. Only a few of our friends know where we live."

"Recently, Gatou's been letting his henchmen ravage the town in search of Tazuna and his family," Kaworu said darkly.

"I don't know how safe they'll be," muttered Tazuna, "now that he's employed ninja."

"What?!" Kaworu gasped.

Kakashi nodded. "We just ran into two chuunin-level nukenin who caused a lot of problems with civilians around Kirikagure."

Kaworu still looked stricken. "Things just keep getting worse and worse."

Everyone was left to their thoughts for awhile, until Naruto spotted something out of the mist. It was a large, incomplete bridge. "Whoa!" he shouted. Satomi snapped her head at him.

"Damn kid, quiet!" hissed Kaworu. "Why do you think I don't have the motor running?!"

Naruto winced and muttered an apology, but looked back up to the bridge. Sasuke and Sakura were glancing at it too, impressed with its size.

"Production's been very slow," Tazuna said softly. "Only a handful of my workers are still willing to help and our equipment gets destroyed on a weekly basis." The coastline came into sight.

"I'll drop you guys off near the woods," Kaworu said, steering them under the bridge. Several minutes later, they touched land.

"Super thanks, Kaworu-san," Tazuna waved as they disembarked.

"I will pray for you, my friend. Good luck to you all." The fisherman leveled off and rowed away.

"My home is just beyond these woods, about an hour's worth of walking." Tazuna said.

Kakashi nodded. "Same formation, except I'll take point this time. Sakura, take the rear."

They walked into the forest with a moderate amount of mist surrounding them. Everyone stayed silent; something in the air set them on edge. They got near a clearing with a lake when Naruto heard a shuffling sound. He reacted without thinking and launched a shuriken its direction. Everyone tensed as the weapon hit something solid.

"Naruto, Sakura, go check it out. Be careful," Kakashi commanded. The two moved cautiously and pushed aside a bush, where they saw a small white rabbit twitching against a tree, Naruto's shuriken in its forehead.

Naruto paled and Sakura rounded about on him. "The poor thing! Naruto, you baka!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know! Forgive me, little bunny…" he half-wailed.

"…The rabbit's fur is white," spoke Sasuke lowly. "It's not winter."

"Get down _now_!" yelled Kakashi. Everyone obeyed as something massive flew over their heads, whirled around in the air, then lodged itself in a tree with a loud crack.

"No wonder the Onikyoudai didn't come back," mused a voice. They all looked up towards a bare-chested man standing on a ridiculously large cleaver, speaking through bandages wrapped around his nose and mouth. "The legendary Sharingan Kakashi himself."

"Sharingan?!" spoke Sasuke in surprise, looking at his teacher, but the jounin kept his attention on their dangerous new adversary. The other genin looked at Sasuke, puzzled.

"Explain later. All of you surround Tazuna now. Do not interfere in any way. That's an order and the teamwork here," Kakashi said lowly. His students immediately stood around Tazuna. Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza, A-class nukenin. I'm not surprised you'd work for scum like Gatou."

Zabuza dipped his head mockingly. "I'm just in it for the money…and the fun. What luck to actually face off against Copy Ninja Kakashi, the man who they say copied over a thousand jutsu, even if you are saddled with three brats pretending to be ninja." His eyes glinted with killing intent and the three genin fought to breathe.

"I'm going to have a little trouble without this," Kakashi said calmly as he began pulling up his hitai-ate. His left eye opened to reveal a red iris with three tomoe inside.

"Ahh, it's an honor to see the renowned Sharingan already." Sasuke tensed. "No matter; I'll still make short work of you all." Zabuza pulled out his sword, jumped back, and stood on the lake. "**Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu.**" Mist swirled all around him and he disappeared, and it became difficult to see through the fog.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all began to tremble at the amount of killing intent saturating the air around them. Satomi began growling loudly. Kakashi concentrated.

"Eight choices…" Zabuza's voice reverberated everywhere. "Liver, lungs, spine, subclavian vein, jugular vein, brain, kidneys, heart…decisions, decisions."

Sasuke couldn't breathe, Sakura choked out a whimper, and Naruto was hyperventilating.

"Guys."

They froze.

"Don't worry," Kakashi turned to smile at them. "I definitely won't let my comrades be killed."

They all visibly relaxed and the air became somewhat normal.

"We'll see about that," Zabuza said behind them. Tazuna let out a strangled yell. Suddenly, Kakashi was there, driving a kunai into the heart of Zabuza. Or at least, a copy of Zabuza; the body Kakashi had hit turned into water. His eye widened.

Sakura leapt back with Tazuna, and Naruto and Sasuke did the same just in time, as Zabuza's sword sliced horizontally where they were and swung through Kakashi's body, which also turned into water.

This time, Zabuza was the one surprised as a kunai was placed near his jugular vein. He didn't flinch as Kakashi spoke behind him, "You lose."

"You managed to copy my Mizu Bunshin in this mist? Impressive," Zabuza chuckled. "But this game's not over just yet!" He melted into water.

Kakashi cursed and ducked before the zanbatou could lop off his head. The force of the swing caused Zabuza to whirl around, but he quickly corrected his balance, switched the hand on the sword, and landed a solid kick to Kakashi. As he flew through the air, he dropped some makibishi, flung several shuriken, and went through hand seals. "**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!**"

The several shuriken became a storm, multiplying and screaming towards Zabuza. The nukenin slammed his sword point-first straight into the ground, lifted himself up in a handstand onto the handle, and pushed off as the shuriken all whizzed by where he once stood. As he landed back on the ground, Kakashi landed into the lake.

As he resurfaced, his instincts screamed at him. _'Why is this water heavy…shit!'_

"You lose. **Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu.**" Team Seven and Tazuna watched in horror as Kakashi was enclosed into a watery sphere, held fast by Zabuza.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"He can't answer you, brat. Instead, he's going to drown slowly in here," laughed Zabuza sadistically. "You're welcome to watch, though. If you can stay alive long enough, that is." A Mizu Bunshin of Zabuza formed out of the lake and walked onto land.

"Without words or seals? Who the hell is this guy?!" Sakura yelled fearfully. Kakashi was signaling them to take Tazuna and run. Sakura set her feet into the ground and got ready to escape.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," spoke up Naruto. "But those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash, right?"

"Not like we can run far from this guy, anyway," added Sasuke, forcing his apprehension aside. "Right, Sakura?" he looked at her to the side, testing her with his eyes.

The pink-haired girl saw clarity in his eye and took a deep breath. "Yeah," she nodded firmly. "We won't back down."

"That okay with you, old man?" Naruto asked Tazuna without letting Zabuza and his clone out of his sight.

Tazuna smiled helplessly. "Go nuts, kids. I got you into this super mess, so I'll let you call the shots."

"Stand back then, Tazuna-san," Sakura replied, moving forward a bit but not too far from Tazuna.

"Stay with the old man," whispered Naruto to Satomi. The fox hopped down and moved to stand alertly near the bridge builder. "Alright, guys. I got a bit of a plan going." His teammates perked up interestedly.

Zabuza sneered. "You think that forehead protector automatically makes you a ninja? Don't make me laugh." His eyes took on a crazed look. "Especially when my hands were already dyed red with blood before your age!" The Mizu Bunshin charged at them while they were unprepared and uppercut Sasuke. He was knocked into the air, and Zabuza's clone spun, impacting his left arm against Sasuke's chest, slamming him down onto the ground, while the other arm landed a punch against Naruto's face, sending him sprawling back near Sakura. Both boys spat out blood painfully.

"Shit," hissed Naruto, forming his trademark cross seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" At least a dozen clones appeared and moved to swarm the Mizu Bunshin, as Sasuke recovered and got to his feet. The Shadow Clones tried to smother the Mizu Bunshin, but they were all thrown into the air as Zabuza's copy pushed them all away with a mighty roar. The clones skidded along the ground, some disappearing.

Naruto reached into his backpack and threw something at Sasuke. "Catch!"

Sasuke caught the weapon and he immediately understood. _'Nice plan, Naruto!'_

He opened up the fuuma shuriken. "Sakura, give me some support fire!" He leapt high into the air. "**Fuuma Shuriken: Kage Fuusha!**" Sasuke hurled the large projectile with all his strength.

Sakura formed hand seals and aimed at the Mizu Bunshin. _'Please work this time!'_ she thought desperately, gathering every ounce of chakra she could. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" A huge fireball streaked towards the Mizu Bunshin. The fuuma shuriken curved in its path, missed the clone, and was barreling at the real Zabuza. The Mizu Bunshin allowed itself to be hit by the Goukakyuu so it wouldn't continue in its path and disappeared into steam.

The real Zabuza just watched the fuuma shuriken calmly and jumped at the right moment, allowing the projectile to pass by harmlessly under him. "Idiots. As if you could beat me with a shuriken." His eyes widened when he heard a poof behind him. A kunai was whizzing towards his face and he reacted instinctively, dispelling the Suirou and leaping back, though the kunai managed to graze his face.

Naruto splashed into the water and kicked for the surface. "Success! Take that, you eyebrowless freak!"

Zabuza's eyes widened in rage and he moved to attack, but Kakashi stopped him by landing a fierce punch to his face, knocking him several meters away. "Redirecting attention with Kage Bunshin, transforming yourself into a fuuma shuriken, and using Goukakyuu as a safety net. Good plan, you three." He glared viciously at a recovering Zabuza. "Leave the rest to me."

Naruto saluted.

Zabuza and Kakashi stared each other down. "Looks like I got distracted and released the prison," Zabuza said casually.

"Wrong. You were _forced _to release it…by a team of genin."

Zabuza's eye twitched. They both clenched their hands and leapt back at the same time. Kakashi's Sharingan spun wildly as they both went through a series of hand seals rapidly.

"_Ushi, saru, u, ne, i, tori, ushi, uma, tori, ne, tora, inu, tora, mi, ushi, hitsuji, mi, i, hitsuji, ne…_"

"_Ushi, saru, u, ne, i, tori, ushi, uma, tori, ne, tora, inu, tora, mi, ushi, hitsuji, mi, i, hitsuji, ne…_"

_'What the hell is going on?!' _Zabuza thought furiously.

The three genin watched in amazement.

_'So this is the power of our Sharingan…'_ Sasuke mused inwardly.

"…_ne, ushi, saru, tori, ushi, ne, i, tori!_" they both finished at the same time and shouted, "**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!**"

Two impressively sized serpents made of water rose from the lake, coiling, winding and towering above them, and they collided into each other with awesome force. Water rushed everywhere, splashing all those present. Satomi had to jump onto a nearby Sasuke to avoid getting swept away by the current. In the midst of the temporary rainstorm, Kakashi and Zabuza had locked blades, neither giving an inch.

_'This isn't possible,'_ thought Zabuza as Kakashi mimicked him. _'My movements…he's—'_

"Reading them perfectly," the jounin stated calmly.

Zabuza's eyes widened. _'He couldn't have read my mind!'_ Kakashi's Sharingan swirled. _'Dammit, that—'_

"Freaky eye is pissing me the hell off! Right?"

Zabuza began sweating. "You're doing nothing more to copying me!"

"You can't beat me, you monkey bastard!"

Zabuza snarled and whipped through some seals. "Damn you, I'll—" He stopped at the sight of himself behind Kakashi.

_'Is that really me?! Genjutsu?!'_

Kakashi finished up the sequence of seals. "**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**"

_'I can't keep up with my own jutsu?!'_

Zabuza roared in pain and frustration as a giant torrent of water slammed his body through several trees until he impacted against a particular thick one. He grunted in pain when four kunai pierced his thighs and upper arms, rendering his limbs useless.

Kakashi landed on a branch above him.

"You…can you see the future?" Zabuza asked weakly.

"Yeah," Kakashi said softly. "You're going to die."

Two senbon suddenly erupted through Zabuza's neck, causing shock in everyone.

"Hehe, you were right," came a soft, androgynous voice. "He's dead." Several meters away from Kakashi, standing on a tree, was a masked figure, an oinin of Kirigakure.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes then jumped down to check Zabuza's body. He had no pulse.

The oinin also jumped down, but kept his distance as the others ran up to them. "You have my utmost gratitude, Hatake-san. I've been awaiting the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a very long time now."

"Who the hell is this freak?" demanded Naruto. "How can a guy like this, like us, kill Zabuza so easily?!"

"Calm down, Naruto," sighed Kakashi. "He's an oinin from Kirigakure, and they specialize in this sort of thing." He patted the blonde on the head. "I know it's hard to believe and accept, but in this world, that's just the way it is. There are some people out there who may be younger than you, but stronger than me."

Naruto glowered fiercely, but stay silent.

The oinin in question approached the body with his hands in the air, offering peace. When he got to Zabuza, he bent down and lifted him. "Once again, thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse me, I must dispose of the body and hide any secrets it may hold. Farewell." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

Kakashi took in a deep breath and relaxed. "That went well!" he said cheerfully. His students sweated at the sudden change in temperament.

"Super well!" grinned Tazuna. "Let's head back to my home to celebrate!"

"Alright. Let's go!" Kakashi smiled. He took one step and promptly fell flat on his face.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. "What's wrong?!"

"Ah…" he mumbled in embarrassment and exhaustion. "I used the Sharingan too much…can't move at all…night, guys…" He fell unconscious.

The genin stared down at the jounin's form, then looked at each other.

_'You gotta be freakin' kidding me,'_ was the collective thought.

"Who's gonna carry him?" Sasuke scowled.

"Only one way to settle this properly," said Naruto solemnly.

Sakura nodded and the three raised their fists.

"Jan! Ken! Pon!" they shouted as one.

_'Damn, I wish I had my Sharingan,'_ sulked Sasuke as he stared at his scissors. Naruto and Sakura cheered, waving their closed fists.

* * *

"Otou-san, okaeri!" exclaimed a longhaired woman in her thirties as she opened the door. She spotted Kakashi slumped on Sasuke's shoulders. "Oh dear. Quick, bring him in here. I'll lay out a futon." They shuffled into the house and Sasuke followed the woman. She swiftly laid out a futon in the living room and asked, "Does he need anything?"

Sasuke shook his head. "He'll be fine; he just has chakra exhaustion and minor injuries and needs bed rest."

The woman nodded and moved over to hug Tazuna.

"Tadaima, Tsunami," smiled Tazuna. "As you can see, I've brought some super friends. Guys, this is my daughter, Tsunami. Tsunami, this is Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. The guy lying there is Kakashi and the fox on Naruto's shoulder is Satomi."

The genin took turns greeting her. "Thank you so much for helping us," she smiled gratefully. "I feel like everything's going to turn out alright at last."

Tazuna chuckled. "That they are. Now, where's Inari?"

As if on cue, there was a pattering of feet and a door slid open to reveal a young boy in an overall and hat. "Jii-chan, you're back!" The child ran to his grandfather and embraced him. He scrutinized his family's guests and said matter-of-factly, "Jii-chan, these people are going to die."

Naruto voiced their displeasure. "Oi, what the hell, brat?!"

"Naruto, keep it down…" came a murmur from the futon. Kakashi stirred and looked in his direction. "…Why are you getting mad at a kid?"

Naruto just growled. "Listen, Inari. We're all heroes from Konohagakure who are going to save this place from trash like Gatou! So keep your opinions to yourself and watch us work!"

"Are you retarded or something? There are no such things as heroes," snapped Inari. "No one can stand up to Gatou. There's no way anyone can."

"Inari…" Tsunami bit her lip. Tazuna looked down at the floor. Naruto fumed and grit his teeth.

Inari just shrugged and moved towards a staircase. "I'm going upstairs to look at the ocean."

"Inari!" Tsunami called, but to no avail.

Naruto clenched his fists. "I'm going up there to have a nice talk with the kid." Satomi rolled her eyes, jumped down, and moved next to Kakashi, who watched her with a neutral expression.

"Just behave yourself, Naruto," Kakashi sighed. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind and he grew pensive.

The blond made his way upstairs, itching to yell at or beat some sense into the boy, but he paused in front of Inari's room when he heard sobbing.

"Otou-san…" came the faint voice of Inari. "Otou-san…I miss you…"

Naruto hesitated, then exhaled slowly and made his way back downstairs.

"Naruto, you didn't hurt him, did you?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

The blond just shook his head with a sullen look, confusing those present.

"Oh, shit." They all turned to Kakashi.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"…Zabuza's still alive," Kakashi muttered.

A long pause.

"_What?!_" came cries from Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna. Sasuke just gaped at the jounin.

"How is that possible?" the Uchiha heir demanded.

"Think about it. Oinin are supposed to dispose of the body right there as soon as they kill a nukenin. Also, remember the weapon used to kill Zabuza?"

"Senbon," murmured Sasuke. He began to pale. "Needles that can be used in acupuncture."

Kakashi nodded gravely. "Based on those two facts, it's entirely possible that the oinin was his ally and put Zabuza into a temporary death state in order to save him. The good news is, if this is the case, Zabuza's out of commission for at least a week; he needs to recover from being put into a temporary death."

Sakura gulped, but Naruto and Sasuke looked almost eager.

_'Figures they'd be happy hearing Zabuza may still be alive.'_

"What're we going to do, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "You have to recover too, right?"

"Doesn't mean I can't train you guys," he replied, giving an eye-smile. His students all perked up. "Tomorrow, that is. It's late and I don't think it's wise to exert myself anymore."

"In the meantime," Tsunami spoke up, "I expect you guys will be wanting dinner," she smiled. "We don't have much but—"

"That's alright," Sakura said quickly, being mindful of their economic situation. "We're trained to go without food for awhile and we have rations anyway. Plus—"

"I can hunt," blurted Naruto. They turned towards him in puzzlement, and even he looked a little confused.

Satomi, however, had an amused look.

"In the forest, you mean?" Kakashi supplied. "Well, there should be some tasty-looking rabbits out there. Ones that aren't used for Kawarimi anyway," he grinned. "Why don't you go hunt us some then?" He made a shoo-ing motion with his hand.

Naruto grumbled helplessly and motioned for Satomi to join him, and together, they walked out of the small home.

* * *

"Vulpine instincts mixed with a noble streak added to your big mouth. Very nice combination."

"Oh shut up."

Once they got deep enough into the forest, Satomi had promptly transformed back and was now watching Naruto attempt to track prey.

"I _think_ these are rabbit tracks," he murmured.

"They are. Not bad for an amateur," smirked Satomi. "Now keep quiet and approach carefully. Stay downwind."

Naruto muttered something incoherently and followed the trail. Soon enough, they could see two rabbits in a small clearing. Naruto pulled out a pair of shuriken, took aim, and flung them. One hit the mark, lodging itself in one of the animal's necks, but the other weapon grazed the second's ear, causing it to run away in alarm and fear.

Satomi reacted immediately, changing into her fox form and climbing up a nearby tree. She rapidly bound from tree to tree, keeping an eye on the escaping prey, and when she was close enough, she pounced from above, tackled the rabbit, and tore her fangs into its neck.

As she licked her muzzle and admired her kill, Naruto came into view, carrying the other dead rabbit. "Thanks," he muttered. She gave him a patronizing look. "Should we get two or three more?" She responded by baring her bloody fangs and nodding. "You just wanna taste more blood," he scoffed.

It was certainly interesting to see a vixen feign innocence. Naruto just shook his head.

Forty-some minutes later, Satomi sat perched on his shoulder, licking her paws in a decidedly satisfied manner as they brought the fruits of their labor, five rabbits, back to Tazuna's home.

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

jou-chan - roughly "missy" or "young miss"

Nami no Kuni - Land of the Wave

Sharingan - Copy Wheel Eye

onikyoudai - demon brothers

kijin - devil

makibishi - caltrops

jankenpon - Japanese version of Rock, Paper, Scissors

Fuuma Shuriken: Kage Fuusha - Evil Wind Shuriken: Shadow Windmill

Kirigakure no Jutsu - Hidden Mist Technique

Kage Shuriken no Jutsu - Shadow Shuriken Technique

Suirou no Jutsu - Water Prison Technique

Suiryuudan no Jutsu - Water Dragon Blast Technique

Daibakufu no Jutsu - Great Waterfall Technique

**Original/Non-canonical Techniques:**

Gokunetsu no Jutsu (極熱の術 - "Extreme Heat Technique"), D-rank:  
_Heat is channeled into the blade of a weapon, making it red-hot. Causes instant cauterization. Can be used for offensive purposes, fieldwork, or medical procedures. Improper usage of chakra will cause the entire weapon, including the hilt, to become hot, thus burning the user._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, there's nothing quite like witnessing the miracle of life to get the blood pumping, is there? I expanded the scene a little for a touch more drama and team-bonding.

Clothing is a tricky business. Satomi is, for all intents and purposes, an OC, and I lack the artistic talent to provide a more visual medium for your viewing pleasure. Admittedly, the lengthy description was more of an exercise for me, though I think I became guilty of Telling, not Showing.

Fight scenes are not my forte at all. I criticized myself for sticking so close to the manga, but I wanted to have a baseline to work off of in order to get a feel of how to pace the actions of a battle and translate them into pure text. I did try to minimize the conversation before the fight; I'm not a fan of lengthy backstories while combatants just stand there patiently and politely. If you're going to try to kill someone, common courtesy is moot.


	7. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"We're going to _climb_ _trees_?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Yep!" Kakashi replied cheerfully, bracing his sore body with crutches.

"…Maybe you should be back in bed," Sasuke said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto agreed. "How does climbing trees help us fight Zabuza and that masked kid?"

"So impatient," sighed Kakashi. "Here, lemme show you what I mean." He concentrated a small amount of chakra to his feet, walked up to a tree, and began walking up the tree, his body perpendicular to it. The fact that he didn't seem to be straining against gravity despite his injuries was a testament to his strength. His students watched with gaping mouths as he finally stopped, suspended upside-down from a branch. "Maybe I should've clarified it as: climb trees without using your hands."

"That would have been helpful," muttered Sasuke.

Kakashi just smiled. "The main purpose of this exercise is to increase your chakra control. It only takes a small exact amount of chakra to adhere yourself to the tree, and it's said the most difficult places to channel chakra are the feet. So theoretically, if you succeed on this, any jutsu you attempt to learn from now on will be much easier to do."

The three perked up at the thought.

"The other advantage to this training is that you will end up increasing the stamina needed to control chakra. After all, in battle, you'll be constantly moving, making it harder to concentrate. Also, being able to resist gravity does wonders for your abs."

He chuckled at their collective eye rolling and took out three kunai before throwing them down in front of his pupils.

"Well that's enough jabbering from me. Best way to learn is with your own bodies. Pick a tree, channel chakra to your feet, and see how far you can run up it; no way you guys can just walk up at this stage. Mark each run with your kunai and improve each time."

The three genin nodded determinedly and picked up the kunai. They focused chakra to their feet and each took off at the same time towards separate trees. Satomi jumped off Naruto as he bounded up almost ten steps, each one splintering the wood, before he stumbled and fell backwards. His arm lashed out to slice the trunk and a second later, he collided with the ground, narrowly missing Satomi. She looked at him, deadpan, and flicked her tail lazily. Sasuke made it up to a little over six meters before his foot finally cracked the trunk, spurring him to make his mark, flip backwards, and land on the ground on his feet. Naruto rubbed his back as he glared at the Uchiha.

"Kakashi-senseeei!" came the distant voice of Sakura. The males looked up in amazement. "This is pretty easy!" she shouted from at least twenty meters up, sitting on a large branch.

Naruto and Sasuke felt slightly jealous while Kakashi whistled.

"Not bad, Sakura!" the jounin yelled. "Come on back down!" The pink-haired girl nodded and ran straight down the length of the tree, jumping off and somersaulting onto the ground. She stumbled forward a little when she landed and was slightly breathless.

"That was awesome, Sakura!" Naruto congratulated.

Sasuke gave her a small approving nod. Sakura smiled embarrassingly and bowed her head.

"Yes, well done, Sakura," Kakashi nodded. "I take back what I said earlier; maybe your control is good enough to actually walk up a tree. Give it a try."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" She turned towards her tree, channeled her chakra, and slowly stepped onto the trunk. She wobbled, took all of two steps, then slid down and impacted against the forest floor with a pained yelp.

They all winced and Kakashi chuckled. "There, something to work on. Behave yourselves, kids." He walked back down onto the ground and made his way back to the house to continue recovering and keep an eye on Tazuna and his family.

They all shook their heads at their departing teacher and continued to climb. Slowly but surely, Naruto and Sasuke progressed higher and higher in their runs, though Naruto would still occasionally place too much chakra into a step and crack the wood, and Sasuke kept several meters ahead of him. Sakura, after a few more tries, eventually was able to walk up for only a few meters, and she watched the boys' attempts while resting at the base of the trunk.

As another crack and a loud curse rang out, causing Sasuke to lose his concentration and fall, Sakura sighed and stood up. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she called. "Want some advice?" Naruto began nodding eagerly and Sasuke gave her a hesitant nod. "Not everything in the world may have chakra per se, but everything, including rocks, has some sort of energy. Try visualizing your chakra becoming a part of the tree's living energy. Don't try to force anything on it; just focus a constant flow."

Her teammates adorned thoughtful looks. "Thanks, Sakura!" Naruto grinned while her crush nodded his gratitude.

The pair then looked at each other, sizing up one another. Simultaneously, they turned towards their respective trees, took deep breaths, and ran. Sakura watched on in joy as the boys blazed upwards smoothly, doubling their original distances before having to make their marks and leap off. Panting as they returned to the ground, they each gave her an appreciative smile, and she gave a thumbs-up in return, blushing lightly.

_'Yoshi,'_ she thought as they all faced their trees again. _'Me as well, shannaro!'_ She proceeded to try to walk up the entire length of the tree as Naruto and Sasuke continued improving their runs.

* * *

'_I hate dealing with ninja,'_ thought the little businessman called Gatou as he walked through the complex and towards Zabuza's room with two of his best henchmen, Zouri and Waraji.

"Well, well," he sneered as the two dishonored samurai kicked the doors open, gazing upon a prone Zabuza on the bed with an effeminate-looking boy standing next to him. "You dare show your pathetic face here after failing a simple task of killing an old man? So much for the title of 'Kirigakure no Kijin!'"

Zabuza gave no reply, continuing to not even make any indication that Gatou existed, much less spoke. The boy watched the businessmen and the samurai closely out of the corner of his eye. His hands tensed when the bodyguards grit their teeth and prepared to draw their swords.

_'An attack?'_ the teenaged nin thought warily.

"Now, now," Gatou said smoothly, waving his men down. He walked superiorly towards the bed. "There's no need to give me the silent treatment," he cooed mockingly as he reached for Zabuza's bandages. "So how about—"

A loud snapping sound rang in Gatou's ears before the pain registered. He screamed in agony with the boy's hand wrapped around his wrist, his radius and ulna both broken.

"You will not touch Zabuza-san with your filthy hands!" the nin hissed lowly.

Gatou's lackeys cursed and drew their katana, but before they could even take one step forward, the blades were suddenly wrenched out of their hands and reappeared under their throats in an instant.

"You really shouldn't do that," the boy continued in the same dangerous tone, killing intent filling the air. "I'm quite angry right now." He knocked the bodyguards backwards onto the ground and slammed the swords down next to their heads.

Gatou clutched his throbbing arm and hastily moved back towards the door. "One chance!" he sputtered in pain and outrage. "I'm giving you one more chance!" He ran out the door and his two samurai followed after yanking their katana out.

"Haku," Zabuza said softly when the boy closed the doors. "You didn't have to." He pulled his blanket aside to reveal a kunai in his hand.

"I know, Zabuza-san," Haku smiled, walking back over to his most precious person. "But we can't kill him yet. We need to be patient."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled looking at Haku.

Haku just continued smiling and reached for a box containing acupuncture needles and herbal medicines. "Shall we begin?"

Zabuza's feral grin showed through his bandages.

* * *

The next day found Sakura sitting on a crate, watching Tazuna and his scant number of workers construct the bridge. She yawned and hopped down, needing to stretch.

"Sorry you had to come along," Tazuna chuckled, carrying a pile of metal rods. "You must be super bored."

"No, it's alright," she giggled embarrassedly. "Though I wish you'd just let me help. I can handle it, you know."

"I know," smiled Tazuna. "But I can't let such a super cute girl do construction. Besides, you'd probably discourage the rest of my workers," he laughed. She blushed in response.

"Tazuna, got a moment?" The pair turned towards one of the workers walking up to them.

"Sure, Giichi," grunted Tazuna as he set the rods down. "What's up?"

Giichi hesitated then bowed his head and murmured, "I'd…I'd like to stop working on the bridge!"

Tazuna gave a stunned look and shouted, "Not you too, Giichi!"

"I'm sorry, Tazuna," the middle-aged man replied in shame. "I know we've been close for a long time now, but…but I can't afford to continue risking Gatou's wrath on me and my loved ones! Most of the workers' families have already been terrorized for helping you, and some are dead for resisting! Even Kaiza died standing up to Gatou!"

Sakura watched as Tazuna's visage became noticeably darker. "It's already noon," he said neutrally. "Let's stop here for lunch." He turned his back on Giichi.

"Tazuna, I—"

"You don't have to come anymore, Giichi. I understand. Thanks for your help thus far." Tazuna took off his hard hat and placed it on the crate Sakura was sitting on.

She looked up at his pained face and felt torn; she was sorry for Tazuna and angry at Giichi's cowardice, but also empathetic to his fear.

"Let's go, Sakura-chan," Tazuna said softly. "We need to pick up some vegetables for Tsunami."

"Okay," she replied just as softly. She gave one last look to Giichi, who had begun to shed tears silently, and followed Tazuna.

They walked in relative silence for a while, and then Tazuna spoke up, "So the other two are still training?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. They left before you guys got up and went to continue practicing the exercise Kakashi-sensei showed up."

She smiled wryly. _'Those two are monsters with their stamina. I couldn't even walk all the way up the tree.'_

"Will they be alright by themselves?"

"Of course!" Sakura said immediately. "Sasuke-kun and Naruto can take care of each other."

Tazuna smiled at the girl's confidence in her friends. As they neared the town, his smile faded. "Be careful," he said lowly. "Things have been really bad lately, so don't be surprised at some of the things you'll see."

Sakura swallowed hard and nodded.

However, as they walked through the town, she couldn't keep all the horror out of her face. People of various ages in tattered, grimy clothing lined the streets, most of them sitting against the walls of buildings with their heads down, and Sakura hoped they were just sleeping. Some trudged up and down the roads while wearing signs like "Will do anything for food." A few women wearing a bare minimum of rags even held signs such as "5000 ryou per hour." The air was filled with despair and hopelessness, carrying the scent of refuses, dirt, and an undercurrent of human excrement.

A woman spotted Sakura with glazed eyes and shuffled her way over to them, tugging along her daughter. "Please, kind miss, isn't there anything we could do for you? Anything at all for whatever wage you see fit?" the woman begged, holding her hands together. Her child, who couldn't be older than seven, mimicked her mother with a bright smile.

Sakura's throat grew thick. "I'm sorry, oba-san," she whispered. The woman looked down and the child's smile faltered. "But I have a little something for you, cutie," she said to the girl, putting on a smile. Sakura reached into a pouch behind her and pulled out some candies she had brought along to indulge her sweet tooth for the trip. She put them into the girl's hands, whose eyes widened, and her mother thanked her profusely, even though they were common treats.

Sakura's heart nearly broke when the little girl gave her a wide smile that was missing a tooth and ran off to share the sweets with some other children who were around.

Tazuna patted her on the shoulder and led her into a small grocery store. Inside, the pink-haired genin's feelings only worsened when she gazed upon the contents of the shelves, or rather, the lack thereof.

_'There's barely anything! Half a dozen heads of lettuce, five carrots, nine potatoes…'_ She moved closer to inspect the prices. _'What the hell…these are almost five times more expensive than back home!'_

"It's terrible, isn't it?" murmured Tazuna as he walked over to her, carrying a bag with a few vegetables. "It was bad when Gatou starting taking over everything, but a month ago, when I started the bridge, things became even worse." He looked regretful but it changed to determination. "But I can't give up. I can't let Gatou win. I will bring hope to these people once more!"

Sakura nodded affirmatively. "And we won't stop helping you until that bridge is complete." Tazuna gave her a thankful smile and they made their way out of the store.

'_This is unforgivable,' _Sakura thought to herself. _'Gatou…he has to pay for all this. He absolutely can't get away with it all!'_

And for the first time in her life, Sakura knew what it was like to want to kill someone.

A woman suddenly screamed, putting them both on edge. They turned towards the opposite direction they had come from and saw two brutish mercenaries harassing the woman and child they had met earlier.

"So you'd do anything for money, huh?" the taller, balding one sneered. "Well then, I guess you won't mind if I help myself to your body!" He pulled the woman towards him by her arm and began running his other hand up and down her body.

"Y-yes," she shuddered. "I'll do anything for any price. Just don't harm my child…"

"No! Kaa-chan!" the girl tried to wrest free from the other mercenary holding her.

"Shut up, brat," he spoke lowly and calmly as he pulled out a wickedly serrated knife from a sheath on his thigh. "We could always kill your precious kaa-chan instead."

"Doesn't matter to me as long as they're still warm!" cackled the first as he grabbed the woman's breast.

"Let them go."

The pair of rogues looked up at who dared to speak out.

"Let. Them. Go," Sakura repeated slowly, stepping forward cautiously.

"Eh? Who the fuck do you think you are, you little wench?" the big oafish one demanded, reaching behind to unhook the axe on his back.

His sandy-haired partner caught sight of her hitai-ate. "A ninja? You?" he laughed. "A pretty little mouse like you?" He began cackling madly.

Sakura just tightened her jaw and reached for her weapons pouch.

"Ah-ah-ah!" He placed the knife against the little girl's neck. "Don't even think about it, bitch."

The child whimpered and trembled as a small dribble of blood ran down her collar, and Sakura froze, seething inside.

"Though it would be such a shame to spill all of her innocent blood…" He crouched down and licked the side of her face slowly. "…When I haven't even had my way with her purity."

Sakura snapped.

With a speed and accuracy she would later recall with disbelief, she reached into her pouch, grabbed two kunai, and launched them with a furious scream and a burst of wild chakra. The first lodged itself in a spot between his bicep and triceps, making his palm open reflexively, and the blade dropped to the ground. The second kunai pierced his eye deep enough to puncture his brain. He slumped back and his partner could do nothing to react; as soon as Sakura had thrown her weapons, she concentrated chakra to her feet and legs and shot forward like a bullet. Before the balding exploiter could swing his axe, Sakura cocked her arm back, focused chakra into her fist, and drove it into the man's head with an almost inhuman roar. He toppled backwards, dead with his face caved in.

After a few moments of shocked silence, other than Sakura's panting, the pink-haired girl began to tremble as the adrenaline wore off and the situation became registered in her mind.

_'Oh gods…I…I killed them? I didn't even realize…what I was doing…'_

Her next thought caused her to gag.

_'It felt good…'_

"What have you done?!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"She saved those two!" another one yelled.

"She's condemned the rest of us!" the first voice replied. "Now the other mercenaries will demand our blood as repayment!"

Several others agreed.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Someone picked her up by the undersides of her arms and it took her a second to realize it was Tazuna.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan," he muttered softly. "Let's head home. Steady now." He kept his hands on her shoulders and steered her towards where they had entered.

"Stop causing trouble for us, Tazuna!" came a new voice.

"Yeah! Before you end up like Kaiza!"

Sakura felt Tazuna stiffen, but they made their way silently out of the town. When they reached the outskirts of the forest, Sakura pushed away from him and threw up the contents of her stomach and then some. The old bridge builder rubbed her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry you had to do that," he spoke morosely.

Sakura coughed a few times and took a deep breath. "…I would've had to eventually."

Tazuna sighed and they made their way back to his home. _'The life of a shinobi, huh?'_

* * *

"Oryaaahhh!"

"Haaahhh!"

Naruto and Sasuke ran up taller trees than they started with, having already reached their pinnacles. About two-dozen meters before they could hit the peaks, they both had to mark the wood and jump back down using various branches. Breathing heavily, they looked at each other.

_'Damn teme, not tiring out.'_

_'Damn dobe, catching up.'_

Naruto grinned. "First to reach the top wins?"

Sasuke smirked. "Loser buys lunch when we get home."

"You're on!"

Nearby, Satomi rolled her eyes. _'I'm doing that too much,' _she thought wryly. As the boys got ready to try again, her ears twitched and she began growling.

"Oh my." Naruto and Sasuke tensed and whipped around towards the direction of the voice. They gaped slightly at the sight of an attractive girl, who looked slightly older than them, wearing a pink yukata. "Please pardon my intrusion," she bowed and spoke in a soft, feminine voice. "I was gathering herbs and wondered what the noise was."

"Sorry about that," Naruto laughed sheepishly. Satomi continued to growl lowly to Naruto's confusion.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What kind of herbs?" he demanded.

The young lady smiled serenely. "They're part of a recipe for a tea my father enjoys," she replied with fondness. "It's therapeutic for his rheumatism." She glanced at their hitai-ate. "You are ninja? You must be strong for ones so young."

Naruto laughed again embarrassingly, but before he could reply, Satomi leapt onto his shoulder and began tugging at his ear insistently. "Ow, wha—"

"What is your reason for becoming strong? What purpose does it serve for you?" the newcomer suddenly asked with genuine curiosity.

The question even surprised Sasuke a little and Satomi paused in her actions.

"My reason and purpose?" Naruto repeated. "I wish to become strong enough to protect everyone and earn their respect!" he said firmly, thinking of his dream.

"Everyone in general?" she clarified. "Not just for those who are precious to you?"

"Eh?"

She looked away. "Not everyone deserves that honor," she whispered, mostly to herself.

Naruto looked at her, a little stunned and puzzled, while her words repeated themselves in his mind.

She looked back up again and was smiling. "I'm sorry for taking so much of your time." She bowed.

"No problem, miss," replied Naruto, shaking his thoughts away.

She turned to leave. "I wish you both good fortune."

Sasuke watched her depart with suspicion. "Will you father be alright?" he asked with a challenging undertone. The girl tensed and Naruto looked at him questioningly. "If I ever end up meeting him, I hope he'll be healthy enough."

Without turning around, she said lightly, "I'm sure he'll be just fine." Before she was out of their sights, she abruptly called out, "Oh, by the way! I'm a boy, not a 'miss!'"

Naruto gaped again and Sasuke was stunned out of his mistrust.

"N-no way!" Naruto muttered. "She…_he _was cuter than Sakura!"

Sasuke just nodded absentmindedly.

The wind blew as the pair stood in silence.

"…Oi, teme."

"…Yeah, dobe?"

"…Does this make us gay?"

"…No, you moron." Sasuke then shook his head and his face turned dark once again. "C'mon. We need to head back."

Naruto gave an affirmative sound and followed the Uchiha with Satomi perched on his shoulder.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Naruto called when they reached Tazuna's home and opened the door. "Ne, Kakashi-sen—"

The boys stopped in their tracks when they saw Sakura sitting against the wall in an upright fetal position.

"What happened?" Sasuke demanded, worry creeping into his voice.

"I have no idea," Kakashi spoke from beside her. "She and Tazuna just got back." He looked up at Tazuna, who was standing two feet away from Sakura with tension all over his face.

"She just walked over and sat down without saying a word," Tsunami said, moving near her father, while Inari sat at the table watching them.

The boys moved towards their teammate. Sasuke crouched down to gaze into her glazed eyes. "Sakura," he murmured. "Tell us what happened."

Her eyes flickered a little. "I killed them," she spoke quietly and monotonously. Everyone present froze, except Tazuna, who grimaced. "I _wanted_ to kill them…I didn't even think about it," she continued. "Gods, I moved so fast…"

"Killed who?" Kakashi asked softly.

"…Two mercenaries." She licked her dry lips. "I had to stop them…" She took in a shuddering breath. "I had to stop them before they could…" She trailed off.

"Could what?" Sasuke encouraged.

Sakura looked at him with rage and pain in her eyes. "He was going to rape that little girl," she whispered darkly, recalling the look of terror on the child's face. "And the other one…he was going to rape her mother…and she wasn't going to do anything about it!" Her voice grew louder. "She just wanted to protect her daughter and earn money for them to survive! And no one around them was willing to help!" She could hear their accusing voices. "They were too afraid to act and said I just made things worse for them!" The pink-haired genin bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

There were varying degrees of emotion on each person's face, from empathy and concern for Sakura's loss of innocence to rage and disgust directed at Gatou and his cronies.

Kakashi patted her on the head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Sakura. People kill each other for many different reasons: for revenge, for pride, for honor, or even for the hell of it. You killed them in order to protect someone, and you succeeded."

"But I…Kakashi-sensei…I _enjoyed_ it," she hid her eyes from them. "I can still feel…his skull…" Sakura gagged again and a bucket was passed to her just in time. After coughing a few times, she whispered, "I'm a monster—"

"You're not, Sakura." She looked up at Naruto and everyone glanced at him. "I know what real monsters are, and _no one_ here," he emphasized pointedly,"is one."

"He's right, Sakura," Kakashi stated. "Tell me, why did you enjoy it?"

"Because…" she swallowed, "because they deserved it…and they wouldn't be able to do it again…because I was strong enough to stop them..."

"And that makes all the difference in the world," their sensei said firmly. "I'm proud of you, Sakura. _We're_ proud of you."

Naruto gave one of his trademark grins and Sasuke nodded slightly with approval in his eyes. She smiled weakly.

Inari, on the other hand, had something different in his mind.

"They were right, you know," he said coldly, causing everyone to look at him. "All of you are making things worse for us. What do you think you can accomplish by being here?!" He began yelling. "No matter what you do, you can't defeat Gatou! No matter what kinds of promises you make, they'll all empty! You'll all just end up dying!" Tears began running down his face.

Naruto growled. "Shut up, brat! What do you know?! We're the ones helping out your gramps and your country! We're not like you, always being pessimistic!"

"I don't want to be like you!" Inari spat. "You don't even know what it's like to suffer through life!"

"I said _shut up_!" Naruto nearly snarled. The air became thick as his pupils dilated then began to slit. "You think you're the only one who's had a hard life?! You think you're the only one in the world who's faced some sort of terrible pain so that it gives you the right to constantly cry and bitch and whine like the star of some tragedy?! Guess what, kid? That's life. What're you going do about it? Are you going to just give up or are you going to deal with what life force-feeds you? Find out what really matters to you and protect it at all costs!" Naruto pointed towards Tazuna. "Just look at your gramps for fuck's sake! You say you don't believe there are heroes, but here's one right in front of you!"

"Naruto," spoke Kakashi softly. "That's enough." Naruto grit his teeth and stared Inari down.

The boy was shivering in fear and despair as shame crept into his mind. Biting back a sob, he stumbled from his chair and retreated up to his room.

Breathing heavily, Naruto put his hands over his face. He inhaled deeply and his arms fell to his side. "Sorry about that," he muttered to Tsunami and Tazuna, who were staring at him in a mix of disapproval and empathy. He sighed and asked tentatively, "He lost his dad, didn't he?"

They both looked surprised. "How did you know?" Tsunami inquired in a quiet voice.

"I heard him crying for his dad once."

Tazuna's visage turned pained and Tsunami tried to say something past the lump in her throat.

"Kaiza," said Sakura suddenly, remembering the townspeople's earlier words. "Was he…the man they called Kaiza?"

The bridge builder nodded shakily. He moved to the kitchen, took a sake bottle out from a cabinet, and sat down at the table. He took a small sip as his eyes grew misty and distant. "Kaiza…was a hero of Nami no Kuni."

"Inari's real father passed away in a boating accident before he was born," Tsunami explained, sitting down as well. "But in the three years Kaiza was in our lives, you wouldn't think they weren't biologically related," she smiled sadly.

"Kaiza was a wandering fisherman," Tazuna continued, "looking for a place to make his dreams. He ended up here in Nami no Kuni and saved Inari from drowning one day. Afterwards, they were inseparable."

"Eventually, he became a part of the family," Tsunami said next. "He was a good man; we ended up falling in love, and Inari needed a father, so we got married." Without realizing it, she placed a hand on her abdomen.

"Kaiza taught my grandson, and the whole city, the meaning of the word 'courage.' He would say that if a man had something truly precious, then no matter how sad or how tough things got, he must always protect it with his two arms. Even if he lost his life while doing it, the proof of his life would remain forever." The old man sniffled, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. "And that's exactly what happened."

"A month ago, after numerous attempts by Kaiza to bring him down, Gatou finally had enough," Tsunami sobbed. "Kaiza…was executed in front of the whole town…even Inari was there."

"He had his men…crush Kaiza's arms with a mace…then amputated…and then they beheaded him," Tazuna shuddered. "Since then, no one's ever been the same, especially Inari."

Their audience was appalled. Kakashi's visible eye had narrowed and the tension in his jaw could be seen through the mask, giving him a frightening appearance. Sakura was crying silently but her eyes were bright; any regret she had earlier about killing the mercenaries completely evaporated. Sasuke tried to look neutral, but his hands were clenched to the point where his knuckles were white and a flash of anger twisted his face every now and then. Naruto glared on a spot on the wall, not noticing his pupils were changing again and his nails were sharpening.

Kakashi glanced at Tsunami and where she had put her hands. "…How many months?" he asked purposefully. Tazuna and Tsunami looked stunned while Team Seven looked puzzled at their sensei's sudden question.

Tsunami fidgeted a little with her shirt. "…A little over two…I haven't even told Inari. I make a point not to remind him of Kaiza. I didn't know how he'd react knowing there would soon be a constant reminder of his father in the house."

Comprehension dawned on the faces of all three genin.

"Naruto?" questioned Sakura when he suddenly stood up and walked to the stairway.

"I'm going to go talk to him," the blond replied somberly. Satomi followed him and they made their way up to Inari's room. As before, Naruto could hear quiet sobbing through the door, but this time, he turned the knob.

Inside, Inari froze and he cursed himself for being so distraught that he forgot to lock the door this time.

"Oi," Naruto said gruffly.

Inari didn't turn around from his view of the ocean. "W-what do you want now?" he sniffled.

Naruto didn't say anything as he closed the door and walked over to the table where Inari was sitting on. Satomi stayed near the entrance and watched.

They stayed in tense silence for a moment, and then Naruto spoke up. "We heard about your dad."

Inari stiffened even more and began silently crying anew. "You're lucky though, you know."

The boy turned around in surprise and confusion. Naruto was staring out at the ocean with a faraway look.

"…I lost both my parents…just a few moments after I was born," he said in a solemn voice. "I never got the chance to know who they were, how they acted, what they smelled like, how it would feel to hold them and be held by them…" He looked down at Inari. "But I have to deal with it. I can't just keep crying and wondering about it. I have to think 'What can I do to make them proud of me?'" The blond looked back out the window. "…You're going to be a big brother soon, you know."

Inari's eyes grew to impossible sizes. "I'm going to be…mom's going to have…dad's baby…?"

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Your dad was right. Protect the things in your life that are truly precious and the proof of your life will remain forever." He glanced back down at the boy, straight into his eyes. "What will you do? Think about it." With that, Naruto put his hand on Inari's head then turned around and began making his way out. Satomi's ears flicked as she heard the two pairs of feet shuffle away from the other side of the door, and she took her usual perch on Naruto's shoulder.

Downstairs, Kakashi watched his other two students return. "Eavesdropping isn't polite, you know," he quipped lightly.

Sasuke just made a seemingly uncaring sound while Sakura replied a little thickly, "Just making sure that baka doesn't say the wrong thing again."

* * *

On the fourth day they were in Nami no Kuni, Team Seven, minus their sensei, walked along with Tazuna to the bridge. Having already reached the tops of the tallest trees the previous day, Naruto and Sasuke had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Sakura, discussing team formations and battle strategies. All of them had been expecting some sort of altercation with other bandits and mercenaries, but things were strangely quiet.

"_Either there's so many of them, they don't really care,"_ Kakashi had said,_ "or Sakura's effectively frightened them. Bullies are the biggest cowards, after all."_

"Are you sure you guys wanna help with the construction?" Tazuna asked again, half teasingly. "You kids could get super hurt."

"Well, we could just let an old fart like you break his back," Naruto shot back.

"Yes, it'd be a shame if there were to be some sort of accident," deadpanned Sasuke.

"Boys," admonished Sakura lightly while Tazuna laughed.

"Seriously, though," the bridge builder smiled, "you boys will be a super help to us. I probably wouldn't even need my workers!"

Five minutes later, he deeply regretted those words; when they reached the bridge, a gruesome sight awaited him. All the workers that had been willing to stay and help were strewn about in various places and positions. Every single one of them, however, had their head chopped off, and the heads were all lined in a row in the middle of the bridge, each with a horrible visage of terror permanently on their faces.

"Wha…what…" Tazuna stuttered. A heavy mist suddenly descended on them.

"This mist…" muttered Sakura. "Kakashi-sensei was right."

"Get ready," Sasuke commanded, tensing. The three of them moved in front of Tazuna and drew their weapons.

"Damn bastard, acting like the leader," Naruto groused, steeling his nerves. Satomi hopped down to the ground, ears flicking.

"Hohh…Kakashi let you brats walk around unprotected?" came the amused voice of Zabuza from all around them. "How foolish."

"Yeah?" Naruto sneered, his cerulean eyes darting left and right. "Not as foolish as the last time you underestimated us, all because you have an ally and a big fuckin' sword. So who's the cocky one now?"

There was a pause, and when Zabuza spoke again, there was no amusement. "You punks are still taking this too lightly!" A dozen copies of the nukenin suddenly appeared, surrounding them. "Look at that," one of them sneered. "All three of you are trembling in fear."

Sakura looked up, her emerald eyes glinting. "You're wrong."

"We're trembling…" Naruto gave a feral grin.

"With excitement!" Sasuke finished, smirking.

The trio concentrated chakra into their legs and shot off in a circle at the same time, with Naruto and Sakura moving clockwise while Sasuke sped counterclockwise, and they extended outwards. One by one, the Mizu Bunshin were dispelled back into water until there were no more, and Team Seven returned to their original positions.

The mist cleared up a little, revealing Zabuza and a masked Haku standing a few dozen meters in front of them. "Well, well, you kids got a little stronger. Looks like you have some rivals, Haku."

"Indeed, even if the Mizu Bunshin are only a fraction of your power, Zabuza-san," the fake oinin replied.

"What's going on?" Sakura muttered. "Kakashi-sensei said Zabuza should've been out for at least a week."

"Haku here is very talented," the nukenin said cryptically.

"Still wearing that mask, pretty boy?" Sasuke scoffed.

Haku hesitated slightly then reached up and removed his mask. Naruto had to struggle to hide his surprise.

_'So that's what Satomi was trying to tell me the other day…and what Sasuke was getting at. Fuck.'_

"So you did know," Haku spoke in his normal, androgynous tone. "Why did you let me go then?"

"I really hate bastards like you, pretending to be something you're not," the Uchiha smirked, "but I wanted to fight you here and test myself against you."

"How arrogant."

Zabuza chuckled darkly. "Maybe the rumors about those bandits were credible after all. So which one of you killed them?" Team Seven hesitated and the boys' eyes shifted to Sakura. "The pathetic-looking kunoichi?! Haku, you have some catching up to do."

"My apologies, Zabuza-san. I will start with these three then."

Team Seven moved forward and prepared themselves. "Naruto," Sakura whispered. "Can you send a Kage Bunshin to warn Kakashi-sensei?"

"Don't bother," Zabuza smirked, reading Sakura's lips. "He's going to have his hands full."

* * *

Tsunami hummed as she prepared lunch. _'I hope Kakashi-san will be alright, even if he is just fishing.'_ The jounin had insisted, saying it would be helpful to get some light physical activity.

Inari walked into the kitchen. "Whatcha making, kaa-san?"

"I think I'll just grill whatever fish Kakashi-san brings back for us," she replied, turning slightly to look at her son. There was a light in his eyes that had been absent for months.

"Okay," he smiled. "I'll be up in my room if you need anything."

"Thank you, sweetie," she smiled back, watching him run up the stairs.

_'He hasn't smiled in so long…Naruto-kun…thank you.'_

She turned back to cutting vegetables.

A few moments later, a knock came at the door. "The door's unlocked, Kakashi-san!" she called, a little puzzled.

There was a silent pause and then suddenly there was the sound of metal slicing through wood. The door crumbled into pieces and Tsunami spun around with the kitchen knife at the ready.

"So the ninja isn't home. Good thing." Zouri and Waraji stepped through the rubble and eyed her evilly.

"Kaa-san!" Inari came rushing down the stairs, freezing at the last step at the sight of the two ex-samurai.

"Inari, get back!" Tsunami raised her makeshift weapon and ran towards the two men. There was a flash of steel and the blade of the knife was severed in half. She stumbled back and fell onto the floor.

"Foolish woman," the one called Zouri smirked, snapping the katana back into his sheath.

"I should cut her up for that. Or the kid," Waraji grinned sadistically.

"Well, we do just need one hostage."

Tsunami paled. "Please! Don't do anything to my son! I'll be your hostage! If you kill him, I'll bite my own tongue off!"

"No! Kaa-san!" Inari yelled mournfully.

"Hmph. Thank your mom, kid," Waraji muttered as Zouri moved over to tie Tsunami's hands up.

Inari sank to his knees and began to cry as Gatou's henchmen roughly pulled his mother out of the house. _'Kaa-san…I'm so sorry…I can't do anything at all…I can't…'_

"_I can't just keep crying…"_

The boy paused.

"_I have to think, 'What can I do to make them proud of me?'"_

Inari began wiping his eyes.

"_What will you do?"_

He rushed upstairs to his room and rummaged through his closet.

"_You're going to be a big brother soon, you know."_

There it was: the crossbow that his father had handmade for him so they could go out hunting together. _'Otou-san,'_ Inari thought as he grabbed a quiver of arrows. _'I'll make you proud!'_ The boy quickly made his way downstairs and from the front doorway, he loaded the weapon, took careful aim, and fired.

The arrow whizzed towards Waraji's head, but before it could do any damage, the man spun around, raised his katana, and drew it halfway to block the projectile. "Fucking kid!" he spat. "You just had to be a hero! Now can I cut him up?!" he yelled to Zouri.

His partner just shrugged and nodded. Tsunami yelled in terror, "No! You can't—" Zouri reached over and struck the woman on the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious.

"Heh. Better say your prayers fast, kid!" Waraji drew the rest of his sword and ran towards the house.

Inari paled and fumbled to reload his crossbow. _'C'mon! C'mon!'_ He took aim again, but his hands were shaking. _'Otou-san!'_

A fish fell from the sky, landing in Waraji's path. The ex-samurai's foot stepped onto it and he slipped, falling backwards with a thud and a yelp of pain as his head slammed against the ground.

'_Fuck!'_ Zouri moved quickly, drawing his sword and pressing it against the woman's neck. However, he realized the woman he was clutching was actually a log. _'Kawarimi?!'_

He looked up at the house where Kakashi glared down at them with Tsunami in his arms. He quickly set the unconscious woman down and hopped off the roof, landing squarely on Waraji's chest, causing his ribs to snap and puncture his lungs. The man gurgled as fluid and blood filled them.

"Should've got up sooner instead of nursing your head. That's what happens when you live the life of a common thug instead of a samurai," Kakashi said darkly without looking at the dying man underneath him. He stepped off Waraji and stared Zouri down. "You did well, Inari," Kakashi called. "Your father would've been proud." The boy smiled weakly and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Stay in the house and leave the rest to me."

Zouri smirked confidently. "You against all of us?" On cue, a horde of Gatou's other lackeys stepped out of the foliage, all baring various weapons and bloodthirsty grins.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. _'At least a hundred. Dammit, I haven't even fully recovered yet.' _He formed a cross seal. _'This'll have to do.'_

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Only five Shadow Clones were made, and two took to the house's rooftop to guard it and provide support. Gatou's army looked slightly intimidated, but they charged anyway.

_'Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, hang in there and take care of each other!'_ Kakashi and his copies readied their kunai and shuriken, and a few began making seals.

_'Damn fox better protect them all,'_ was his last thought before executing his skills as an ex-ANBU Captain.

* * *

"A two-pronged attack?" murmured Sasuke, grimacing.

"That's right," chuckled Zabuza. "Even though I think Gatou's sending lambs to the slaughter. Oh well. Not my problem." Team Seven grit their teeth.

"So, teme, you're going to take on that cross dresser?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Can you handle no-brows by yourself, dobe?"

"I could use Sakura's help," the blonde replied, looking at her out the corner of his eyes.

"I need to stay behind to guard Tazuna-san," she said a little tersely.

"Don't think you can do much in that department," laughed Zabuza. "I could kill the old man anytime I want to, even if all three of you were guarding him. But, as it turns out, Haku wants to take care of you all personally, so I'll just sit back and save my energy for when Kakashi shows up. Besides, who am I to deny the greatest tool I've ever had?"

Sakura grit her teeth, but Naruto spoke lowly, "It's alright. If he tries anything, Satomi will keep the old man safe." Said fox jumped down and moved in front of Tazuna, much to the bewilderment of everyone else.

Zabuza let out a barking laugh. "You're letting an _animal_ protect _my_ target? Your bravery has made you even more moronic!"

The blond just gave a foxy smile. "And you're still underestimating us. Go ahead. I dare you to try attacking Tazuna."

The nukenin narrowed his eyes. _'Doesn't seem like he's bluffing…what is he hiding?'_

"Enough talk," Sasuke snapped impatiently. "So us three against that guy then?" he said, looking at Haku. "Mind if I take a crack at him first?"

Naruto laughed dryly. "Selfish bastard. Fine. Just don't get your ass kicked."

Sasuke just smirked and drew a kunai. "Aa." He rushed towards Haku, who reciprocated. They clashed midair, kunai against senbon, and exchanged several blows. Clanging rang out, becoming higher and higher in frequency.

"Not bad," grunted Haku, his senbon straining against Sasuke's kunai. "You're pretty fast."

"So are you," ground out Sasuke.

"Heh. This is nothing." Haku raised his other hand. "But from here on out, all you can do is defend against my attacks." To Team Seven's surprise, he began making hand seals.

"One-handed seals?!" Sakura gaped. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

"**Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou.**" Haku stomped on the ground with one foot and water rose from the remnants of Zabuza's clones and froze into needles in midair.

_'Shit!'_ Sasuke's eyes widened as the needles converged on him. _'Focus!'_ He ran chakra through his feet and legs and leapt up high into the air.

"Fuck!" yelled Naruto. "Right, that changes things. Let's go, Sakura!"

"Un!" They both moved forward.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

"**Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

Naruto and his three clones leapt up into the air and threw a hail of shuriken at Haku, while Sakura's fireball roared towards him. Sasuke quickly made hand seals and added to the attack.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**" The Uchiha spat out a rain of fireballs downwards onto their enemy.

Haku flashed through numerous one-handed seals in response. "**Hyouton: Toushugo.**" A thick block of ice encased his form just before the triple strike made contact.

_'Fool. Fire melts ice,'_ Sasuke thought as he landed near Naruto and Sakura. His teammates had the line of reasoning. However, when the flames died down, the ice remained.

"What the hell?!" shouted Naruto as the ice deformed, revealing an unharmed Haku.

"What kind of techniques are these?" Sasuke muttered in frustration.

"Kekkei Genkai?" Sakura whispered with dread.

"That is correct," Haku smiled as coldly as his ice jutsu and formed more hand seals, this time with two hands. "And unfortunately for you, I'm going to end this with my ultimate technique." The trio of genin ran forward to try and stop him, but it was too late. "**Hyouton Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou!**"

Team Seven watched in morbid fascination as a dome of over twenty large slabs of ice formed and surrounded them. Their misplaced amazement only increased as Haku stepped into one of the frozen blocks and the effeminate young man's reflection appeared all around them.

"Mirrors?" Sakura murmured, unnerved.

"Yes," echoed Haku's voice. "And now you can witness my true speed."

A cut appeared on each one of them, causing them to flinch.

"Ow, what the—" Naruto bit down as a few more cuts appeared on them.

Then there were several more.

Then they all screamed in pain as a multitude of slashes became apparent on their bodies.

Gasping, they collapsed onto the floor.

"How…" Sasuke choked. "How is this possible?!"

Zabuza laughed mockingly from outside. "Figuring it out won't help you now."

"The mirrors," moaned Sakura. "It must have something to do with reflections."

"My, you are quite intelligent, aren't you?" Haku said. "The mirrors reflect my image, allowing me to teleport from one to the other instantly. No one has ever defeated this technique."

"Fuck that shit," Naruto growled, getting to his feet. "Instant teleportation, my ass. Let's see how fast you really are! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" He threw caution to the wind and made a dozen Shadow Clones this time and each jumped at a mirror. Three seconds later, they all disappeared in puffs of smoke. Naruto winced at the information reflux and he collapsed to his knees; Haku had taken them all out with senbon stabs to the head, neck and heart almost simultaneously.

'_Fuck…Satomi warned me about this…'_

Since they were no longer merged, Naruto did not have Satomi to help micromanage the side effects of Kage Bunshin anymore.

Sasuke's eyes, however, had widened during the slaughter then narrowed.

_'What was that? I could've sworn I saw something.'_

"Naruto! Do that again!" he commanded.

Naruto pushed back the headache; if Sasuke sounded that confident, he'd just have to make do. "Osu! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Again, there were a dozen clones, and again, they were all massacred. Naruto swore he felt something burst in his head and the left third of his vision darkened.

However, Sasuke felt hope rise inside him. _'I can see something! It's faint, but I can see it!'_ His eyes were pulsing slightly. "One more time, Naruto!"

"You better be getting somewhere with this! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Once more, his clones attacked the mirrors. But just as the last Shadow Clone was about to be killed, Sasuke formed hand seals.

"**Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**" His fireball rushed to where it was just as it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke ended the jutsu and grinned excitedly.

_'I can see you!'_

Haku looked down, stunned, at his burnt, red foot and blackened portion of clothing around his ankle. Ignoring the stinging pain, he glanced at the Uchiha in surprise. _'His eyes…his eyes have changed!'_

"Nice, Sasuke!" Naruto croaked, clutching his head. "You got him!"

"Great job, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura looked up at her crush and gasped at the sight. "Sasuke-kun…the Sharingan!"

Naruto whipped his head around to see. Indeed, his rival's eyes had transformed; the irises were now crimson and there were black tomoe around his pupils, with two on the right and one on the left.

'_Amazing,'_ thought Haku. _'Even though its development is incomplete, for this boy to awaken his bloodline in the middle of battle…'_

Sasuke felt a triumphant rush at the amazement in their eyes, but upon seeing Naruto's obvious anguish, his savage smile faltered a little, and he nodded his thanks for the blond's efforts.

'_This is getting dangerous,'_ was Zabuza's internal monologue. _'I didn't think these brats would progress this quickly.'_

He lifted his massive, bloodied sword in front of him. "Guess I'll have to do my part then, the hell with that fox!"

The genin all turned as Zabuza rushed towards Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, run!" screamed Sakura.

Zabuza's feral grin showed through as he swung the zanbatou horizontally. However, before it could slice off the frightened bridge builder's head, there was a flash of red-orange and pale purple, and Tazuna was gone.

"Naruto was right," came a deceptively melodious voice from behind him. "You need to stop underestimating us." Everyone except Naruto looked on in shock and awe at the figure standing protectively in front of Tazuna.

_'It's all making sense now,'_ Sasuke and Sakura thought, glancing at each other briefly then towards Naruto.

_'Goddammit, I hoped it wouldn't come to this,'_ grimaced the blond.

"I'll explain later on," he muttered darkly.

"What on earth…?" whispered Haku.

"Fox ears…tails…red eyes…" muttered Zabuza. "Who…_what_ the fuck are you?!"

Satomi bared her fangs and flexed her clawed hands. Bright purple flames appeared on each of her tails. "A _real_ demon." She leapt up into the air. "**Kitsunebi.**" Her tails launched the four flames in succession at Zabuza. The nukenin dodged almost all of them as he formed hand seals.

"**Suiton: Teppoudama!**" A large ball of water shot forth from the sea behind him and made to intercept the remaining flame. However, it quickly evaporated on contact. "Shit!" He rolled out of the way, but the purple fire grazed his left arm. He seethed in pain as the skin over his bicep turned black.

"Zabuza-san!" yelled Haku.

"Haku, stop fucking around and finish this!" roared Zabuza, swinging his sword. Satomi agilely dodged each blow of the large weapon.

"Hai, Zabuza-san." He turned back to face the genin. "I am sorry, but I must end this. I must protect my precious person."

"That guy?!" sputtered Naruto. "He said you were just a tool! He works for trash like Gatou and wants to help destroy the hope of a country! How can you help a guy like that?!"

"He gave me a reason to live," replied Haku. "His dreams are my dreams, and I would go to hell and back for him, because he is the one most precious to me." He raised his senbon. "I thought you would understand, but perhaps I was mistaken. Farewell." Haku's eyes flickered minutely before he made his move.

_'No!'_ Sasuke caught on and prayed he would make it on time.

Naruto watched helplessly as Sasuke suddenly moved in front of her and grunted as numerous thuds sounded out. He grabbed Haku out of midair, and with all his remaining strength, Sasuke spun around and threw him towards one of the ice mirrors. The centrifugal force plus Sasuke's last bout of energy caused Haku to impact against the frozen slab with considerable strength and he tumbled to the floor.

"Sasuke!" Naruto stared at his rival's front in horror.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura reacted as Sasuke began falling backwards, catching him, wincing as some of the needles entered her own flesh, but she held on regardless. She gasped at his state and was reminded of Kakashi's genjutsu. Her crush's torso and arms were riddled with senbon and two had even entered his neck. His breathing was labored and he fought to keep his eyes open. Naruto quickly ran to their side.

"I-idiot…finish him off…" Sasuke gasped in pain.

"You're the idiot!" exclaimed Naruto, bending over him. "Why didn't you let us know?!"

"No time…moron…"

"Sasuke-kun…I'm so sorry," cried Sakura, afraid to remove the needles. "I wasn't strong enough…you still had to protect me…why…?"

Sasuke just smirked weakly as his blood stained her arms and clothes. "Beats me…I just r-reacted…" He looked at her in the eyes.

_'Hn…never really noticed…how green they were…'_

"Become…s-stronger, Sakura…for your sake…and take care of the d-dobe…"

Sakura bit her lip and nodded tearfully.

Sasuke then glanced to Naruto. "I…I promised my…myself…I wouldn't d-die…until I found…th-that man…" Recognition flashed in the blonde's wet eyes. "Na…Naruto…find him…get answers…"

"I will, Sasuke," Naruto replied thickly. "You stupid…bastard…"

Sasuke gave a weak laugh, and then his eyes closed and he stopped breathing. Naruto bowed his head as Sakura wailed mournfully to the sky, causing the two combatants outside to pause and turn to look.

Haku got up shakily and wiped some blood from his mouth. "Is this your first time witnessing a comrade's death?" he asked softly. He got an emerald, tear-filled glare in response. "I see." The longhaired boy moved and re-entered the ice mirrors. "You have my condolences. He was truly strong, protecting you with his last breath."

"…Shut up."

Haku and Sakura froze at the low, guttural tone.

There was a small, sizzling sound as Naruto stood up slowly. "I don't want your fucking _condolences_," he grit through his teeth while flexing his hands jerkily. They watched as his canines and fingernails began to elongate, his whisker marks became more pronounced, and his wounds began to heal.

'_Regeneration?! And what's with this abnormal feeling of power?!'_ Haku felt apprehension and nervousness enter his mind.

"What the hell?" breathed Zabuza.

"Now you've pissed him off," Satomi smiled without amusement. "Good."

"What I want…is your _head_!" Naruto's eyes snapped open as he snarled at Haku, revealing slitted pupils. His irises were no longer a bright cerulean, but were now a deep, almost glowing sapphire. His chakra became a visible dark blue and seemed to solidify around his form, with a portion shaping into a particular form behind him: a single fox-like tail. Sakura gasped in surprise and Naruto turned his head slightly to glance at her and his eyes softened slightly at the small amount of fear in her eyes. "Don't be afraid," he said lowly. "I will protect you."

Sakura inhaled and nodded, forcing her alarm down.

_'This doesn't bode well. I need to take him down _now_!'_ Haku pierced Naruto with dozens of senbon from multiple directions, aiming for high damage pressure points and piercing them with ease, but the blonde just grunted and hunched over slightly. He expelled the needles out of his body with a mighty roar and the wounds immediately began sealing up.

_'What is this boy?!'_ Haku looked to Sakura. _'I'll aim for the girl then!'_ He threw several more senbon at the pink-haired genin, but they were deflected in midair. He glanced at Naruto in alarm, who was staring straight at him. _'Was that his chakra?!'_

Naruto roared again, his energy flaring. "You…killed Sasuke…but you won't kill her. _I will not let you_."

The ice mirrors began cracking and Haku struggled to keep his jutsu intact. Nearby, Sakura was bathed in warm winds; Naruto subconsciously would not allow his chakra to harm her.

'_I can't keep this up! I need to escape!'_ Haku thought frantically as he leapt out of the mirror, towards outside of the dome. However, Naruto's fist crashed through the ice and grabbed onto his ankle before he could fully flee.

_'Impossible!'_ was his last thought before he was sailing through the air and slammed into the concrete. Haku gasped in agony as his C2 and C3 vertebrae were cracked and he fought to breathe as his hand twitched along the ground towards his pouch to get more senbon.

_'I need…to keep fighting…for Zabuza-san…!'_

However, Naruto viciously stomped on his hand with a loud crunch. The fake oinin's eyes widened and he gurgled in agony.

"Haku!" Zabuza shouted in alarm, and he ran towards to them.

However, Satomi appeared in front of him, whipped around, and slammed a tail against his head. Zabuza was knocked away several feet, and he glared up at her, blood staining his bandages.

"He's not just a tool to you, is he?" Satomi mused. "That was an extremely foolish move."

"Get out of my way, you bitch!" he screamed and charged at her. However, she leapt back a few meters.

"Do not worry. I will send you to the same destination." Her tails flicked. "**Shuusoku.**" A wind kicked up around her, and dried leaves appeared, swirling in the air. The leaves flew towards Zabuza and surrounded him, spiraling in a foreboding dance.

'_Genjutsu?!'_

The nukenin made a seal. "**Kai!**"

But the leaves remained in the air.

_'What?! It's real?!'_

One of the leaves came closer to him and sliced cleanly through his fingers. He watched in disbelief as his index and middle digits dropped onto the floor. He bit back a scream and he couldn't tell if it was real pain or phantom pain.

_'It's not real! It can't be!'_

More leaves began to circle closer to him, tearing through his flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter.

"This is nothing more than an illusion!" he shouted as dead leaves covered his vision

"You're right."

Zabuza felt a clawed hand rip into his stomach and he choked.

"But a fox's tricks are much more potent, and your mind has no choice but to make them real."

Satomi pulled her hand out with a squelching sound and Zabuza's stomach acid began corroding his insides. He fell to his knees.

"Zabuza…san…" Haku choked out, losing consciousness. "Forgive…me…" The boy's breath rattled and the last remaining light fled from his eyes.

Panting, Naruto closed his eyes, struggling to keep his composure, his chakra dissipating rapidly. He dropped to one knee and hissed in discomfort at the sensation of fire coursing through his blood.

A slow, loud clapping rang out, causing Naruto, Satomi, Sakura, and Zabuza to look towards the south side of the bridge. On a nearby small galleon stood a sneering Gatou. "Seems like we came by just in time. This works out quite nicely for me." Scores of hired goons stood around him, laughing evilly.

"Gatou!" Zabuza ground out. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Surely you didn't think I'd let you live after failing me the first time?" the tycoon cackled. He spotted the body of Haku. "Ah yes, that punk. Even though he's dead, I should pay him back for this arm!" On his signal, two of the thugs lifted a long wooden and metal-cast cylindered object, lit a match on an affixed paper seal, and it fired a lead ball towards Naruto and Haku. The genin quickly picked up his dead enemy and jumped out of the way.

"What the fuck was that?! What do you think you're doing?!" Naruto screamed.

Gatou laughed maniacally. "Behold the power of money! I will give you disgusting ninja this: you make some of the greatest tools! We may not have chakra, but these seals on the black market were designed with that in mind! With this, I'm going to get rid of you pathetic tools and destroy this eyesore of a bridge! Fire, men!" Several more cannons were lifted and fired towards the bridge, crumbling the concrete where it hit. Naruto again lifted Haku while dodging, and Satomi and Sakura did the same for Zabuza and Sasuke.

The nukenin grunted in pain as he pressed against his wound. "Why don't you just let me die?" he whispered.

Satomi scoffed. "Too quick of a death for you, and I refuse to give that piece of shit the satisfaction of stealing my kill."

Zabuza gave a dry laugh. _'A shame…I like this bitch.'_

"Yes, run!" Gatou screeched. "Scurry about like the mongrels you are!" His laughter fell short as an arrow suddenly pierced his forehead. Everyone present froze at the sight.

"Sorry we're late," Inari yelled as he notched another arrow. "But a hero always appears in the nick of time, right?!"

Kakashi stood beside him, looking slightly worse for wear with nicks and cuts all over him, but there was a twinkle in his eye. Behind him was a mob of townspeople carrying everything from pitchforks to rusty katana.

Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Damn straight, kiddo!"

"Fuck!" one of the mercenaries on the ship yelled. "You fuckers just killed our meal ticket! Oi, everyone! Reload those cannons!" A cry for murder rang out as they bustled about, trying to follow the order.

Satomi gave a "Tsk," while Naruto formed a cross seal and Sakura took out some exploding tags. Inari took aim as Kakashi ran through a series of seals.

"Wait," Zabuza coughed, and everyone hesitated. He looked towards Sakura. "Toss me all that you've got and leave it to me."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Why?" she spat.

"Because we have no reason to fight anymore, and I'm already dead," Zabuza gave her a piercing look.

Satomi looked down at him neutrally and he nodded his head at her. She scoffed. "Do as he says. You too, Naruto." The pair hesitated momentarily but reached into their pouches, grabbed all their tags, tied them to a kunai and tossed them towards Zabuza.

He caught them both in one hand and glanced at Kakashi. "Sorry, Kakashi, but looks like we won't be having a rematch." The jounin said nothing, but instead, bowed his head slightly forward. Zabuza then gazed at Naruto and Sakura. "Not bad at all, brats…there's hope for you yet. It's been fun."

He got up and walked to the edge of the bridge, facing the ship. The hired men just finished affixing new tags and were loading the lead spheres.

"Haku was always too soft," he suddenly called to Sakura. Without looking at her puzzled face, he forced every ounce of his chakra into the bundle of tags and poured what strength was left into his legs. He shot towards the ship and the bandages around his mouth loosened, showing his sharpened teeth along with his maniacal-looking eyes. All the occupants of the ship froze in horror.

_'A devil!' _was their collective thought as some lifted the cannons while others raised their blades.

_'Haku…I'll see you in a bit.'_

Zabuza skewered himself onto several weapons, but he did not so much as grunt as the metal slid through his flesh and organs. With his body twitching and his eyes glinting with madness, he gave a fearsome smile and, despite the spearhead in his neck, spoke to the mercenaries in a guttural voice:

**"Hell awaits, boys."**

The tags went off, letting loose a thunderous and magnificent explosion that incinerated everyone on board.

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

yoshi - "alright" or "okay"

tadaima - "I'm home"

ANBU (**An**satsu Senjutsu Tokushu **Bu**tai) - Special Assassination and Tactical Squad

Kekkei Genkai - literally "Limited to Blood Inheritance"

Hyouton - Ice Release

Hijutsu - Secret Technique

Sensatsu Suishou - One Thousand Water Needles of Death

Makyou Hyoushou - Demonic Ice Mirrors

Housenka no Jutsu - Phoenix Fire Technique

Teppoudama - Water Bullet, but literally "Gunshot"

**Original/Non-canonical Techniques**:

Toushugo (凍守護 - "Frozen Guardian"), B-rank:  
_Kekkei Genkai jutsu, resulting in an automatic rank up and above average capabilities. Defensively encases the user in a miniature iceberg and renders most physical attacks useless. Conventional fire or Katon jutsu will not melt the ice either._

Kitsunebi (狐火 - "Foxfire"), A-rank:  
_Mythical purple flames of the divine fox spirits. Extremely dangerous and infernal._

Shuusoku (秋息 - "Autumn Breath"), S-rank:  
_Demonic illusion of the divine fox spirits. Images of dried leaves surround and cut into the enemy. Highly potent and able to warp subjective reality; the mind, afflicted by demonic chakra, will translate the illusion as real and force the body to comply._

* * *

**Author's Note:** As talented as Haku may be, Zabuza's recovery is still a rush job. Also, the element of surprise in the form of Satomi proved to be an advantage, and even in canon, Zabuza underestimated Team Seven. I hope my version of this battle resonated with the circumstances.

Here, I can finally explain why Satomi had to be released from the seal early on. Kage Bunshin is normally a game breaker for Naruto. I can't speak for anyone else, but I imagine that what it takes to mentally process even a dozen separate existences of myself (experiences, memories, senses, thoughts, insights, intuitions, et cetera) would knock me the fuck out. The canonical Nisen Rendan technique? Two thousand clones? Insanity.

I imagine that the Kyuubi not only provides the necessary chakra, but also mitigates the mental influx of information. I can't say what the details would be in canon, but in this fic, sharing a soul is intimate enough to transcend mental boundaries and filter the process. Satomi spent ten years being dormant and then had to sort through all that mess for a while, so my reasoning was that she could aid in processing Naruto's horde of Kage Bunshin. This had to change.

Yes, I deliberately crippled the guy's bread-and-butter. As you saw, three consecutive sets of a dozen produced hazardous results in the middle of battle, despite his healing factor and their relatively momentary existences. The Kage Bunshin will not be abused; it was forbidden by Minato for a reason.

Besides, if Naruto could take advantage of the technique like that, he could pretty much train solo, and this is a Team Seven-centric fic.

Although it's been years, I still must give credit to ABitterPill, formerly Narilyte, who gave me the inspiration to reject the traditional crimson eyes of Naruto's Berserk Mode and use a darker shade of his natural irises. It ended up giving way to a future development regarding Team Seven.


	8. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

The flames were beautiful in a way.

As the wood on the ship blackened and turned to ash, it carried a cleansing feeling to it like cool rain on a summer day. Naruto and Sakura looked on solemnly, while Inari and the townspeople were cheering nearby.

Satomi watched carefully as Kakashi made his way over. Her ears and tails had disappeared with the arrival of the town mob, but very few gave it a shadow of a thought. He was watching her cautiously and his emotions kept shifting from gratitude to resentment.

She narrowed her eyes. "Whatever transgressions you may have against me can wait," she said neutrally, catching the attention of the genin. "By now, you must realize that if I wanted to do something, I would've already done so."

"I can't be sure of all your motives," replied Kakashi tersely, but he did relax somewhat.

"Kakashi-sensei…you knew?" Naruto asked carefully as his physical features returned to normal and the chakra tail dissipated.

The jounin nodded. "I had my suspicions. I'm willing to bet Sasuke and Sakura did as well."

The blond whipped his head towards his pink-haired teammate, who also nodded. Before they could say anything else, however, someone coughed weakly.

Sakura looked down in disbelief. "S…Sasuke-kun?" She got another weak cough in reply. "You're alive…he's alive!" she shouted joyfully to her team, who quickly rushed over.

Sasuke gave a weak groan. "Someone…get these fucking…needles out of me…'m not a pincushion…"

Naruto and Sakura gave choked laughs, while Kakashi shook his head.

"Alright. Naruto, hold him steady. Sakura, take them out carefully; they went in straight, so take them out straight."

The pair gave their affirmations and did what they were told.

One by one, the senbon were pulled out, and Sasuke grimaced through each one; the feeling of smooth metal sliding through his flesh so precisely was unnerving. Once they were all gone, Sakura ripped off a strip of her clothes and wrapped it around Sasuke's neck.

"Thanks," he muttered. Sakura just looked at him with misty eyes, and then embraced him. He grunted in pain, causing her to gasp and recoil.

"Sorry!" she murmured, blushing.

"It's alright." He, too, was blushing slightly. He looked around, taking notice of the burning ship, the carcass of Haku, the state of the bridge, and most importantly, Satomi. "You have a lot to explain, Naruto," Sasuke said seriously, gazing straight into the blond's eyes.

Naruto winced and hesitantly nodded.

* * *

After cremating Haku's body, courtesy of a purple flame from Satomi, and the general cleanup of the bridge and forest where Kakashi had fought Gatou's men, Team Seven made their way back to Tazuna's house. Kakashi had partially wanted to keep Haku's body so Konoha could study his Kekkei Genkai, but decided to just let it be; a small courtesy for not killing Sasuke.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were bandaged up where they needed to be, with Sasuke sitting up in a futon with Sakura's help and Kakashi sitting on the other side of it. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari were sitting at the table, and all six of them kept their attentions on Naruto and Satomi, who were standing next to each other on the other side of the room. The vixen-turned-human looked disinterestedly towards a wall while the Naruto was contemplating just getting the hell out of there.

_'Satomi and I could just live out there on our own,'_ he reasoned to himself. _'It's not like most of the villagers would miss me…'_

"Don't even think about it, Naruto," Kakashi deadpanned as they watched his blue eyes dart towards the door.

The blond quailed slightly under their scrutiny and groaned. "Fuck. I didn't want to let you guys know so soon…I don't even know where to begin."

"Then we'll do it for you," Sasuke replied neutrally. "You've been keeping a secret from us: a secret about yourself."

"We've heard talk about a law the Sandaime imposed," continued Sakura quietly. "We asked around and found out the law's about you, Naruto, and how the adults aren't supposed to say something about you."

"This law," Sasuke said next, "was implemented almost fifteen years ago, on the day the Kyuubi was defeated. Big coincidence for there to be a gag rule on the day you were born, and on the same day, a giant nine-tailed fox was destroyed."

Naruto flinched slightly and Satomi scowled.

"Along with the fact that you carry a fox around with what look like whisker marks on your cheeks, and how Sasuke-kun said that you hesitated before giving us her name, it got us thinking. We…we thought you were something like the reincarnation of the Kyuubi…"

Satomi snorted lightly.

"But after seeing her transform into this," Sasuke spoke on, "that can't be the case, can it?"

Naruto stayed silent and rubbed his forehead with his hand.

"Did you really think _your teammates_ wouldn't be able to figure it out? Sakura's academically the top of our class and over half my clan was a police force."

"I hoped you wouldn't," mumbled Naruto sullenly.

"They would've found out eventually," said Satomi in a neutral tone. She turned to look at Sasuke and Sakura, and her eyes narrowed as she smiled a devilish smile. "I'm the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Pleasure to meet you."

By no means were the other members of Team Seven dramatically surprised, but even though Satomi confirmed what was on their minds, Sasuke and Sakura could not help but flinch. Kakashi, however, just narrowed his visible eye. Nearby, Tazuna and Tsunami gave audible gasps while Inari looked confused.

At their reactions, Satomi's smile widened to reveal her fangs, but she showed no enmity.

Naruto turned away to avoid gazing on their looks of fear and apprehension. He swallowed and forced his voice to be dispassionate. "I…I understand if you guys…don't want me around," he clenched his fists, "since…yeah…we can leave in peace and you can just say I was killed in action or something…"

"Why wouldn't they want you around, nii-chan?" Inari piped up in puzzlement. "You're a hero after all!"

Naruto smiled bitterly at the boy's words. "They may not see me in the same way you do, Inari."

"How we see you?" Sasuke spoke up with a dark tone. "You know how we see you, Uzumaki Naruto?"

The blond closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

"You're an idiot."

Naruto snapped his eyes open and gazed at Sasuke in annoyance and outrage. "Oi—"

"You're a loudmouth, a prankster, and an all-around pain in the ass," Sasuke continued, ignoring him. "You crave attention and you make little sense."

"But you're compassionate and caring, too," said Sakura, dispelling Naruto's ire. "You're loyal and protective, and your likes are ramen, learning jutsu, and pranking." She began smiling.

"Your dislikes are waiting for ramen to cook, smart-mouthed bastards," Sasuke smirked, "and people who keep things from you. Hypocrite."

"Your goal is to become the greatest Hokage ever and your dream is to earn the respect and acknowledgement of the whole village," the pink-haired genin said fondly.

"Not to mention you're a rival who gets in my way."

"But most importantly of all, Naruto, you're our teammate…and our friend."

It was as though an egg had lodged itself in his throat. Naruto took a shaky breath and looked them both in the eyes. "You guys, I…you…do you mean…?"

Sasuke scoffed and averted his eyes in embarrassment. "Don't start the waterworks, dobe."

Sakura giggled and Naruto laughed weakly while rubbing his eyes.

"So you're okay with me, but what about Satomi?" He looked up at his foxy companion.

Sasuke regarded her coolly while Sakura bit her lip and said, "Um…I think that Satomi-san…err, Kyuubi-san, uh, sama…ah…"

The woman chuckled amusedly. "Satomi is the name that was given to me. It will do just fine…though 'Satomi-sama' has a nice ring to it."

Naruto groaned slightly and Sasuke snorted a little. Sakura just blinked unsurely.

"Don't even think about it, Sakura," Naruto sighed. "Her ego doesn't need to be any bigger."

Satomi sniffed haughtily.

Sakura blinked again and coughed. "Okay…Satomi…I don't think you have any ill intent towards us." She forced herself to gaze into the woman's crimson eyes. "If you wanted to try anything, you've had plenty of opportunities to do so. I mean, it's been almost fifteen years since…whatever happened to you, so I'm sure you could've escaped or…taken revenge by now," she swallowed, "but you're always by Naruto's side. Plus, you've been hiding the fact that you're humanoid right?"

"Sounds like you have everything figured out," smirked Satomi.

"Well…not everything." Sakura fidgeted nervously. "F-forgive me for asking…but are you under Naruto's c-control or something?" She braced herself for any retaliation.

Satomi regarded the girl with a cool stare, but showed no hostility. "No. I am under my own free will…well, to a certain extent."

"That's not very reassuring." They all turned to look at Kakashi, who had finally spoken in a tight voice. "What Sasuke and Sakura have said had already crossed my mind, and I'm not as close-minded as many of the villagers, Naruto," he nodded towards the blond, his tone becoming softer. "You're one of my students, a comrade, and an important person to me and Konohagakure." Naruto flushed slightly, but kept rapt attention as his sensei's manner became harsh again. "But I cannot forgive _her_ for her actions." Kakashi glared at Satomi. "Or are you going to tell me attacking our village, slaughtering our people, and forcing my sensei to sacrifice himself was not of your own free will?"

"Your _sensei_?" Naruto gaped, along with his teammates as they made the connection.

Satomi did not even flinch at the man's enmity and said very clearly, "No, I will not lie; I attacked because I wanted to."

Chaos almost ensued; Kakashi's rage took on a palpable level as he readied his weapons and leapt forward two steps. Satomi was immediately on edge and her tails were tensed back to impale the jounin, but both did no more; Naruto was standing in front of Kakashi in a defensive stance with Satomi behind him. Everyone else looked on, tense and barely breathing.

"Kakashi-sensei," breathed Naruto, his voice shaking faintly. "Calm down…please."

"Why are you protecting her?" Kakashi asked slowly and dangerously. His controlled anger showed in his voice.

"Because I care about her," was the immediate reply. Both hostile parties were taken aback. "She's an important person to me, like the rest of you. Because she helped us on the bridge even though she didn't have to. Because your sensei…" Naruto bit his lip, "my father…believed in second chances."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened.

"So you _are_…" Kakashi breathed, but he shook his head and ground out, "Even for _her_?"

"That's why we're in this situation," Naruto replied, holding his teacher's gaze.

The cyclopean jounin stared down at his determined pupil. After several tense moments, Kakashi sighed inwardly. _'Stubborn kid…but I suppose he's right. Doesn't mean I like it though.'_

He relaxed and stepped back, and everyone breathed out in relief and did the same. "Explain, both of you…please."

"Can't we just leave it at that?" groaned Naruto. His friends and teacher all gave him a dry look. He sighed in resignation. "Fine." He sat down along with Satomi. "What we're about to tell you has to be kept secret from everyone else. _Everyone_."

"You can trust us, Naruto," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, as did Tazuna and his family.

"I don't have any choice," Naruto smiled weakly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My name…is actually Namikaze Naruto. On the day I was born, the Kyuubi no Youko attacked. In order to stop her, my father, the Yondaime Hokage, used a last-ditch effort to seal her inside of me."

Satomi spoke next. "The seal, however, had underlying designs. For the first ten years of his life, I lay dormant in the seal, and our souls assimilated. They attached to each other like two halves of a coin. Because of that, my chakra has become finite and divvied between the two of us, not including the amount his father sealed away into himself. Also, for four years after that, we exchanged some physical and mental traits."

"But as you can kinda see, the whole souls-together thing isn't that way anymore. My dad didn't just seal her soul to mine, but he had her body sealed away too somewhere else."

"So how'd you guys manage this?" Sasuke tried to gesture to them by lifting his arm, but he couldn't and got a small admonishment from Sakura.

"Well, Sandaime-ojii knew where her body was and he brought it to us, and…" He and Satomi both grimaced.

"And…what?" Sakura asked quietly.

"A Shinigami," spoke Satomi, "tore our souls apart from each other. And trust me, that's the most pleasant way I can put it." Their audience winced.

"Wait…_a_ Shinigami? Don't you mean _the_ Shinigami?" Naruto asked her.

Satomi had a pensive look. "It wasn't the same one I encountered in the past," she murmured mostly to herself.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi pressed.

The four-tailed woman waved her hand dismissively. "That's a story for another day. Besides, you people wanted to know more about Naruto, not me." She gave a sly smile causing all of them to scowl.

"So…your own father…made you into a container for a demon?" Sakura inquired tentatively to Naruto. "And your mother, was she…killed during the attack?"

"Well, I was told my mom actually died giving birth to me." Naruto laughed dryly. "Life's a bitch, ain't it?"

"How can you still laugh and joke around?" Sasuke muttered. If one listened carefully, they would be able to hear some wonder in his tone. "She took everything from you and you can forgive her for it?"

Satomi half-glared at the Uchiha, but Naruto just shrugged nonchalantly. "What am I supposed to do? Kill her in revenge? Wish me luck with that. Seriously, give me some divine intervention while you're at it." Satomi grinned and flexed her claws while Sasuke made a disgruntled sound. "I can't just hate her and curse her my whole life. Why would I want to take the effort to focus on something bad when I can use that effort to look for something good? It's healthier, more productive, and being a ninja is stressful enough, right?"

Almost everyone was amazed at the simple wisdom. Kakashi was chuckling softly and Inari had the grace to look ashamed.

Sasuke, however, felt something tug at his mind. _'Look for something good?'_ He frowned. _'So idealistic…not every cloud has a silver lining.'_ He was about to voice his bitter thoughts, but Naruto spoke up again.

"My dad laid out this path for me…no, for _us,_ for a reason. I refuse to believe that someone who loved me only wanted me to suffer, so I have to find that reason. And I know he loved me. It may sound weird, but I know because he chose me, his own son, for this. He didn't want to, and he could've picked another newborn, but he would've hated that even more. So he trusted me to be able to handle this and to not give up, even though I'd have to go through a lot of pain and suffering." Naruto took a long, shaky breath. His throat was dry, and it was not only because he had begun to ramble.

His onlookers, including Satomi, were surprised at the amount of emotion in his voice.

One in particular felt his heart clench.

_"Forgive me, Sasuke."_

The obsidian-haired teen swallowed as Naruto's words pierced through his dark thoughts and banished them to the corners of his mind.

_'Typical dobe.'_

A weight eased off his heart, but only a fraction. He frowned thoughtfully.

"Naruto…" breathed Sakura. More and more, she saw the boy, who she once had thought was merely a hopeless idiot, in a new light. She had to ask one more thing; she felt that she, and everyone else that had been granted his trust, had a duty to at least share his burden, no matter how miniscule or great. "Naruto…how bad was it?"

His cerulean eyes that shined turned duller in color and his shoulders slumped an inch. But then, Naruto smiled and he said, "It wasn't all that bad. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"But everyone hated you, didn't they?" Sakura almost yelled. "And you grew up never knowing your own parents…"

"Yeah, well…I was in an orphanage at least. I mean, I eventually ended up living up on my own when I was like eight."

"Eight?!"

Naruto just shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Even Sasuke knows what that's like." He winced at his runaway mouth and looked apologetically at his teammate. "Err, sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

Sasuke, for the most part, appeared unfazed and shrugged as well. Both boys were falling back on forced neutrality out of habit.

"Not a big…" Sakura glanced back and forth between them, and her throat tightened. "You're both so stupid!" she spat out before hiccupping a small sob, causing the two to look at her in alarm.

"O-oi, Sakura?" Naruto tentatively moved closer to her when she lowered her head and her shoulders began shaking. "S-Sakura-chan?"

She said nothing, but memories of passing moments flashed through her mind.

_Naruto, always smiling, always indulging in childish pranks, always enjoying the attention…_

_Sasuke, who one day came to class with a disturbing coldness in eyes, as though winter itself was etched into his aura…_

_Naruto, who watched the other children and their parents with an aching longing that disappeared under a wide grin so quickly, she thought it had never existed…_

_Sasuke, who watched the other children and their parents with a deep scowl, whose forced detachment and seeming strength of self had once seemed cool…_

_Naruto's words to Koizumi Mayoi during her childbirth…_

_Sasuke's sudden anger in Naruto's defense when they first became a team…_

_A team…_

Sakura bit her lower lip.

_Naruto, who protected her and Sasuke from Haku with a frightening brutality and powerful intensity that rivaled a fierce thunderstorm…_

_Sasuke, who acted without thinking and couldn't keep triumph out of his eyes when he realized he would make it before the senbon could strike her…_

Her eyes stung.

_'My team, my own teammates, and I never really thought about it…'_

"I mean, it could've been worse, right?" Naruto was bumbling through his words, trying to get her to cheer up. "For both of us, I mean. Err…wait…"

"Moron, you're the one making it worse," Sasuke muttered in a careful tone. "Just leave it alone."

Sakura twitched.

Without warning, her arms lashed out and grabbed both of her teammates, pulling the pair close to her as she sniffled quietly.

"Eh?! Uh…Sakura-chan?"

"S-Sakura…?"

"Stupid…" she murmured into their shoulders. "Don't say that...haven't you two been alone enough…?" She felt them tense, but she just tightened her hold around them both. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Compared to you two, I'm…I just…I'm here for you guys, okay? I'll do better for both of you and I'll be here for you both so just…don't say things like that anymore…"

After a few moments of silence between them, Sasuke gave a small sigh and relaxed against her while Naruto awkwardly patted her on the back.

"And where does this leave you, kitsune?" Kakashi spoke up, noticing Satomi's apparent disinterest.

"Oh, I'm flattered you care, ichime," came the sarcastic reply as she stared him right in the eye.

"I want to know exactly what your intentions are."

"I find myself wondering what makes you think I have to answer to you."

"You nearly destroyed our village," he hissed, "and caused the deaths of many good people, including Minato-sensei."

"And?" she asked with incredulity. "Is that supposed to guilt trip me into being more forthcoming? Did you forget I was once the most feared of demons?"

"It's for that reason alone that I should just kill you here and now."

"Satomi, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto spoke up hesitantly and attempted to deflect the rising animosity. "Way to ruin the mood, guys."

Kakashi grunted and Satomi just scoffed, but she broke eye contact and stared pointedly at Naruto. The blond met her gaze and the two had a silent battle of wills.

After scrutinizing the pair for a moment, Kakashi inquired, "Just what is Naruto to you?"

Satomi rolled her eyes. "Are you hard of hearing, Hatake?"

"Are you incapable of answering such a simple question?"

"I owe you nothing."

"At the very least, you owe Naruto—"

"_Do not_," she spat, "presume to dictate or influence my thoughts and actions. The boy may be your student and he may be your teacher's son, but you will never even begin to understand the circumstances that exist between us. Or is your insistent paranoia a means of compensating for the fact that _you weren't there for your beloved teacher's child_?"

An extremely thick silence descended upon the room.

"Kakashi-sensei…just let it go, please," Naruto finally spoke up. "It's…complicated and we're really still working it out. You may not trust her, but at least trust me. Trust that dad knew what he was doing."

The jounin looked into the teen's blue eyes and sighed heavily. "I do, Naruto, but even so, I—"

"Before Iruka-sensei…" he interrupted, "before he died…he told me that it was important to have faith in the future, no matter what happened in the past. So it doesn't matter whether you were there or not. You're here now, and so is Sasuke-teme, and Sakura-chan, and people like Tazuna and Tsunami and Inari, too. Satomi's here too and if she wasn't, we would've been screwed on the bridge. So now, we just have to focus on where we go from here together, right?"

The silence that reigned this time was more profound.

"I may not know all the details surrounding this," Tazuna said solemnly, "but those are certainly wise words from your teacher. I've heard plenty of super frightening stories about the Kyuubi no Youko in my life…but when such a fearsome demon saves my life and the welfare of my country, no matter what the circumstances behind those actions are, then that's more than enough for me to start to rethink things."

From their positions at the table, Tsunami gave a small nod and a hesitant smile and Inari just grinned, even though he didn't totally understand the gravity of the situation. Naruto gave a wide, grateful smile and Satomi allowed herself to give a very small nod towards the family.

"This makes so much sense," Sasuke suddenly muttered.

"What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I always wondered how the supposed dobe could come up with those insights. Now I know it's just because of the fox's influence."

Naruto sputtered indignantly while Sakura quickly covered her mouth to try and hide her mirth.

"It's nice to have my greatness recognized," Satomi quipped.

"Goddamn evil fox woman," Naruto muttered. Ignoring her satisfied smirk, he looked at his teammates and asked, "So you guys…are really okay with all this?"

"Naruto," Sakura looked at him patiently, "we're your teammates. 'Those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash,' remember?" She glanced at Kakashi before returning her gaze to Naruto. "And if Satomi's a part of you, then she's a part of this team."

"Besides, she seems to bring the more bearable traits out of you. I can't imagine how hopeless you'd be without her," Sasuke smirked.

"Teme, I don't care if you're injured, I'll slap that freakin' smirk off your face." He was smiling in spite of that. Naruto then turned to his teacher. "Kakashi-sensei?"

The man sighed heavily again. "Just don't expect me to get along with her."

"And here I thought we could've had something special," the vixen deadpanned.

The jounin twitched.

Naruto rubbed his temples. Hopefully, they'd be alright.

* * *

Twelve days went by and found Team Seven to have recovered nicely. Despite being put into a near-death state, Sasuke was up and about like it never happened. Satomi's presence, though still sometimes unnerving, was met with tolerance and begrudging amicability. Around those who didn't know, she had to hide their vulpine features, and she was introduced to the townspeople as a fellow ninja whom Kakashi had called for backup.

The damage done to the bridge was patched up and its continued construction was making good progress; the death of Gatou spurred workers to return to their posts and Naruto and the few Kage Bunshin he could provide, along with Sasuke and Sakura, proved invaluable to Tazuna and his men.

Word of Gatou's demise also led to the recovery of people's stolen valuables and a few people who were kidnapped by the tycoon's men a few days after the battle. Every member of Team Seven wanted to hunt down the remaining vagrants that had apparently run for the hills once they heard Gatou had been killed along with the ninja and the large amount of men he had hired.

All in all, however, Nami no Kuni was steadily improving.

"How did we get stuck with grocery shopping again?" Naruto groused half-heartedly to Satomi. When people of the town noticed them, they smiled and waved, which he returned. Sometimes, they even bowed and he still blushed every time they did. 'Now if only it was like this at home…'

"I'm more interested to know why the shortest person always draws the shortest straw," Satomi smirked knowingly.

"Will you people quit it with the shots to my height, dammit! And quit smirking; Sasuke does enough of it," grumbled Naruto as they walked into the grocery store. The inventory was still lacking a bit, but it was much more fairly priced now.

"What do you want me to do, stick my tongue out childishly like you do?" she asked dryly as he picked up various vegetables.

"That would be cute," chuckled Naruto.

"I don't do cute, gaki." She gave him a look, which he just laughed and waved off as he paid for the produce. As always, he unsealed the amount from his own assets and paid with that. Rolling up the bills Tsunami had given him, he placed them into the plastic bag along with the veggies.

"You'd think she'd get the hint by now," Satomi eyed the roll of ryou.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"Thank you for your patronage, Uzumaki-sama, Satomi-sama," the owner of the store bowed and said graciously.

Satomi smiled while Naruto blushed and winced. "Please, Saijin-san, I told you just 'Naruto' is fine."

"And once again, I must tell you I cannot do that. Have a safe trip," he smiled and bowed again. Naruto pouted but returned the bow, and he and Satomi made their way out.

"Why bother being modest if you enjoy the attention?"

"I don't enjoy it as much as you do, that's for sure," he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Get used to it; first step in accomplishing your dream, right?"

Naruto hesitated a fraction before nodding. Satomi didn't miss it, but she didn't say anything.

Ignoring the pang of uncertainty, the blond shifted his focus to the townspeople bustling through the morning air. "They're setting up stands? Looks like they're preparing a festival or something." He watched as some of the citizens hung decorations along the streets, from lights to paper animals. "Probably celebrating their freedom from Gatou's rule. Well, that's good; I'm betting these guys haven't been able to celebrate anything for a long time."

Satomi smiled secretively without Naruto noticing; the young man had gone up to nearby decorators and asked if they needed help. Of course, they declined politely. "Dense little kit," she muttered to herself. "Well, technically he's not a kit anymore."

* * *

"Tadaima!"

"Okaeri nasai, Naruto-kun, Satomi-san," smiled Tsunami. Kakashi and Tazuna waved from the kitchen table.

"Sasuke, Sakura, and Inari are outside fishing," Kakashi said before Naruto could ask.

The blond nodded and handed the bag of groceries to Tsunami. "Did you guys know? It looks like the town's getting ready for a festival or something."

"Yeah, we heard from Tazuna-san," his sensei replied, gesturing to the coffee-sipping bridge builder, who nodded.

"So that's why you wanted to take a break from construction today," mused Naruto. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, can we go?"

"Of course. The townspeople are counting on it, after all. They'd probably raise hell if we didn't show up."

"Yatta!" The adults all smiled at the cheering blond. "Err, but we didn't bring any fancy clothing along with us."

"That's already taken care of," Tsunami said from the kitchen. "I have several friends who are seamstresses. With Kakashi-san's help, I gave them your measurements about a week ago and they brought over the clothes while you two were out. There's even a set for Satomi-san."

"Wow…thank you, Tsunami-san," Naruto said humbly. "You gotta lemme know who they were; I gotta pay them back."

"I refuse, Naruto-kun. They all insisted that they needed no payment."

Naruto gave a sour look. "Hey, wait. Kakashi-sensei helped? How does he know all of our measurements?"

"I'm a good teacher who knows his students," quipped the jounin.

"My left ass cheek," Naruto grumbled. "How the hell did you get Satomi's measurements?"

"I didn't. Tsunami-san asked her."

"That's a shame. I would've loved to know how that'd turn out," sighed Naruto.

_'Never mind the tension that's still there between the two.'_

"If he asked me such a question, I would've demanded something in return," shrugged Satomi.

"Such as?" inquired Kakashi warily.

"What the hell is under that mask of yours."

"I've wondered that as well," came the voice of Sasuke from the doorway. They all turned as the three fishers walked in.

"Yo, teme!" greeted Naruto. "Welcome back, Sakura, Inari."

Sakura waved timidly from behind Sasuke with a flushed face, causing everyone to wonder what was up.

"Heya, Naruto-nii-chan! Look at what I caught!" Inari held up a fourteen-inch fish.

"Whoa, nice one, Inari!" Inari gave a wide grin. "What's up with Sakura?" Naruto stepped closer to his teammates, but then he paused and wrinkled his nose. "Teme, you reek of fish."

Sakura flushed even more and Sasuke scowled. "Um," Sakura squeaked. "I kinda accidentally…pulled too hard when there was a bite…at the wrong angle…"

"And a carp flew into my face," grit out Sasuke, closing his eyes.

Naruto's lips twitched and he snorted. "Wow, Sasuke, interspecies popularity; even fish want some lip action." He began cackling. Sasuke promptly shut him up by stuffing a fish into his open mouth. "Grrmphf?!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dobe," smirked the Uchiha.

Naruto flipped him off.

Kakashi sighed. "You guys better behave yourselves at the festival later."

Oh look, they were trying to appear innocent. It might have worked better if Naruto didn't have a twitching carp in his mouth.

* * *

"I've never worn anything like this before," groaned a boxer-clad Naruto as he draped the cream-colored kimono around him. "How is it supposed to go, right over left or left over right?"

"Left over right," replied Sasuke, already putting on navy blue hakama over his white kimono. Once he finished securing the pants, he put on a navy blue haori that faded to black near the bottom and carried the Uchiha crest on the back. The black-haired teen sat down comfortably and watched as Naruto tripped while trying to put on his black hakama with orange flames near the ankle. The blond tumbled to the floor of Inari's bedroom.

"…Don't. Say. Anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sasuke grinned down at him.

Eventually, Naruto was able to get the pants on, along with his orange haori with black flames adorning the hem. As the boys straightened their clothes and stepped out of the room, there was a sudden muffled shout as they walked past a nearby room.

"You don't wear any underwear?!"

The pair froze at Sakura's voice and looked at each other with wide eyes. Blood rushed to their faces in synchronization.

"I don't see the need," was Satomi's quiet reply. They could hear Sakura sputtering in embarrassment, but she stopped when Satomi spoke again in a calm tone. "Do you boys want to come in?"

There was a pregnant pause before Sakura screeched, and there was a loud thud on the door, causing both boys to flinch and retreat downstairs.

"I'm kinda glad the others went on without us," Naruto panted once they were in the safety of the living room. "Especially Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke just nodded grimly in response.

Several minutes passed before the girls were finished; Satomi came downstairs first with a calm expression and no signs of her vulpine appendages, while Sakura trailed behind her with a red face. The flame-haired woman was wearing a burgundy kimono that faded diagonally near the bottom into a dark purple with light pink flowers embroidered in. Sakura's pink kimono capitalized on her namesake with a beautiful scene of cherry blossoms floating over a lake on the bottom third of her outfit. None of the genin wore their hitai-ate.

"You don't look half-bad in that," Satomi said to Naruto, walking up next to him. "Though, I'm betting the thud we heard earlier was you."

"Shush, baka kitsune." He appraised her dress. "This one suits you, too, but I think the one with the flames fits better."

She blinked and made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. "Shall we go?" The three teens nodded and put on vinyl zori sandals while she eyed their footwear with distaste. Naruto and Satomi headed out the door first together with the sun setting outside.

As they walked towards the faint sounds of music, Sakura whispered shyly to Sasuke, "You look very handsome in that."

"Thanks," Sasuke murmured back, flushing a bit. "You too. Beau—very pretty, I mean," he stuttered lowly. Then he did something that surprised Sakura even more: he held out the crook of his left arm for her.

She looked at him, stunned, but he steadfastly avoided her emerald gaze with reddened cheeks. She matched his blush, smiled, and wrapped her trembling hand around his arm.

When they reached the brightly lit town and were noticed by its inhabitants, cheers and applause greeted them. Slightly bewildered, they made their way to the center of town, where Kakashi and Tazuna and his family were waiting for them. They, too, were dressed for the occasion; even Kakashi was out of his usual shinobi garb and in a simple black kimono and haori with gray hakama and hexagonal patterns…although his infuriating mask was still in place. Above them hung a party ball suspended by wire.

"Ah, good, the super guests of honor are finally here!" Tazuna shouted happily as the noise from the crowd died down.

"What's going on, old man? Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

The old bridge builder grinned. "We're celebrating two things tonight, kiddo. The first, of course, is our freedom from Gatou's tyranny, mainly thanks to you four!" Cheering, clapping, and whistling erupted once more, and it took several moments to quiet them back down. "Settle down, settle down. Now, the second thing is—"

"Sorry to interrupt, Tazuna," someone yelled from the masses and walked up to him. "But we're actually celebrating three things tonight."

"Giichi?" Tazuna questioned in confusion.

His fellow worker and old friend smiled widely. "We, the whole town, that is, have all agreed and decided that you should be the new mayor of this town!" Tazuna and his family were the ones who were stunned this time as the merriment directed towards him.

"Whoo! Go, old man!" Naruto yelled louder than the crowd.

"Congratulations, Tazuna-san!" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs.

Satomi and Sasuke settled for clapping moderately as their ears began to ring.

The new mayor of the town sniffled. "This…this is just super, everyone! Super thanks, really, all of you! It's a super honor! I'll be a super mayor for our super town and lead our super people through super times and—"

"Otou-san, you're super rambling," Tsunami said beside him, laughing.

Tazuna laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Thank you all again," he bowed deeply and straightened, "and now, last, but definitely not least, our final reason for tonight's celebration! Inari, wanna do the honors?"

"Yeah!" his grandson yelled in anticipation. The boy grasped the string of the party ball above and took a deep breath. "Happy birthday, Naruto-nii-chan!"

The twine went taut and the sphere exploded open, showering confetti and releasing a white banner that read "Happy Fifteenth Birthday, Naruto!" in flowing orange paint.

Naruto's mind worked at high speeds to register the words and the realization that today was indeed October Tenth. He blinked furiously in amazement as Sakura wrapped her arms around him and Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder, and they both gave their congratulations. He could barely feel Satomi's hand ruffling his golden mop of hair and the yelling of the town was a dull roar in his ears. Kakashi and Tazuna were gesturing for him to come up near them, but he didn't understand.

"I think we broke him," Sasuke muttered in amusement. "Oi, dobe, you awake?"

"Wake up, baka gaki," laughed Satomi. "Looks like you get to give a few words again."

Naruto shook his head hard enough to give himself whiplash and jumped when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand.

He looked up at Sakura, who was sticking her tongue out at him; she had pinched him and said cheekily, "No, you're not dreaming, Naruto."

Slowly, he grinned brightly and walked towards the center of town in a daze, followed by his friends. Inari immediately gave him a hug and Tsunami bent down to kiss him on the forehead. Tazuna was patting his back heartily, and Kakashi was looking at him proudly and smiling enough for it to show through his mask. Naruto turned around towards the crowd and the lump in his throat grew bigger.

"I…"

Everyone was smiling. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who had his usual smirk on, but his onyx eyes were bright.

"This…"

Everyone was cheering. Naruto looked to Sakura, who closed one glinting emerald eye, stuck her tongue out, and lifted her hand in a V sign.

"This really…"

Everyone looked at him with nothing but happiness shining in their eyes. Naruto turned to Satomi, who stood right next to him, smiling slightly.

"I…really…thank…"

Everyone accepted him. He took a long, cleansing breath, closed his eyes, and allowed joyful tears to fall.

"Thank you all so very much! I really appreciate this!" he shouted under the twinkling evening sky.

* * *

They stayed at the festival for nearly four hours, after Naruto was presented with a collective gift from the town.

* * *

_"Naruto," Tazuna called as the town quieted, and the blond wiped his face. "We don't have much to offer, but we'd be honored if you would give a super name to our bridge."_

_Another stunned moment later, Naruto took one look at Inari and grinned. "Call it the Great Kaiza Bridge!"_

* * *

After Inari had tackled Naruto and squeezed the life out of him, the five members of Team Seven wandered through the town. They accepted thanks, sampled various foods, and even sat through a talented performance depicting the story of a boy who was born from a peach, and with the help of a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, he conquered an island of ogres.

* * *

_"Ah, I get it!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's because a peach is shaped like a woman's—"_

_A slapping sound rang out as Sakura prevented him from saying any more._

* * *

There were a multitude of games they tried, from the traditional kingyo-sukui to the silly fukuwarai.

* * *

_"See, Kakashi-sensei must look like this under his mask!" Naruto revealed a face with comically fat lips._

_"No, dobe, it's obvious he's hiding these." Sasuke moved to reveal the face he created, one with absurdly large buckteeth._

_Kakashi just smiled, reached over swiftly, and knocked the boys' heads together._

* * *

Even a fortune-teller was present at the festivity.

* * *

_"Oh my," the woman murmured, looking down at her cards and the empty teacups. "After a period of hardships, it seems you two will be blessed with many healthy children," she smiled up at Sasuke and Sakura, who blushed furiously while Naruto cackled and made kissing noises behind them. "And the first blessing will be twins," she finished._

_When they discovered from every citizen they asked that the woman's predictions always came true, Sasuke and Sakura became even more awkward around each other._

* * *

Eventually, after looping through the town several times, Team Seven, as one, nodded and slipped away silently back into Tazuna's house without anyone noticing.

"That was a lot of fun," Naruto murmured while stretching.

"Is it alright to just leave the town like that? I doubt it, but what if something happens?" Sakura asked worriedly, still carrying the light brown wolf plushie Sasuke had won and given to her.

"Who says it's unattended?" Kakashi replied. "I have four Kage Bunshin around the town. Now, who wants to give their gift to Naruto first?"

"Eh?" The blond paused in mid-stretch and watched as his teammates walked into the kitchen, procured some things he couldn't see that were hidden in a drawer, and walked back to him. "Eh?"

"Happy birthday, Naruto," smiled Sakura, and she handed him a beautiful wooden flute, polished and baring three symbols near the bottom: a red spiral, the Uchiha crest, and a cherry blossom. "Made it myself," she said proudly.

"Wow, Sakura-chan, this is amazing," breathed Naruto as he handled the instrument. "You're really talented!"

"Nah, it's just something I learned in supplementary kunoichi classes," she muttered in embarrassment.

"Does a flute really suit me though?" he asked curiously.

"I dunno, I think it does. The sound a flute makes can be delicate or it can be fierce, but it's always clear and pierces the air, no matter how high or how low."

Naruto grinned bashfully, put the flute to his mouth, and blew. Hard.

When the ringing ceased, Sakura rubbed her ear. "I think I'm going to have to teach you how to play that as well."

"You were right though," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head. "Pierces the air."

"And our eardrums as well," supplied Kakashi.

"Don't ever do that again," growled Satomi. Her ears were flattened.

"Eheheh…heh…sorry." Naruto looked down sheepishly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and made his way over to him. "Here you go, dobe." Naruto looked down in confusion; it was his jacket, folded. "Look on the back of the collar."

Naruto did as he was told and noticed a small Uchiha crest sewn in against the orange background, but instead of a red and white fan, it was black and white.

"I figured…we'd both need a family…after everything," Sasuke muttered, though he kept any malice out of his voice. "That marks you as an honorary brother of the Uchiha Clan."

"Wow. Even I've never heard of that," Kakashi said.

"It's been very rarely done but—" Sasuke had to stop due to lack of air; Naruto had embraced him tightly.

When he released him, they both averted their gazes in embarrassment. No more words needed to be spoken between them.

"Well," Kakashi smiled. "That just leaves me." He reached into the folds of his haori, pulled out a photograph, and handed it to Naruto.

The teen gasped at the sight of a blond man with his arms wrapped around a redheaded woman from behind. They only held each other in their gazes as sharp blue eyes stared into bright turquoise. Both had the exact same content smile on their faces. "Is this…?"

"Yeah. Your mom and dad."

Naruto swallowed. He traced his fingers over the features of his parents.

"Wow," Sakura exclaimed softly. "You look just like him, Naruto. But you've got your mom's nose and the shapes of her eyes are the same as yours."

"She's beautiful," Naruto whispered. He realized his cheeks were wet and he quickly wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, she was," Kakashi said softly. "Apparently, Naruto also inherited her stubbornness and love of ramen."

"Really?" blinked Naruto.

"Yep," his sensei laughed. "Every time Minato-sensei took her out, she wanted ramen. Come to think of it, I think that's practically all she had while she was pregnant with you."

"That explains so much," Satomi said in half-wonder, half-exasperation. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and everyone chuckled.

Kakashi reached into his haori again and pulled out a small jug. "We can celebrate properly now that you're all fifteen."

"Is that sake?" Sakura blinked in surprise.

"Amazake," corrected the jounin.

"But we're not of legal age," Sakura protested, though she really wanted to have a go at it.

Kakashi just shrugged. "You're ninja. Technically, you're already of age; if you're old enough to die for your village, you're old enough to drink. Besides, Minato-sensei did the same when I turned fifteen. It's an old tradition." He walked to the door. "Someone bring some saucers and we'll relax on the porch."

"I'll get it," Naruto offered and placed the photograph and the flute into his haori while his team headed outside.

"I didn't get you anything," Satomi said suddenly but quietly as Naruto went into the kitchen.

"It's alright," he replied as he searched through the cabinets. "You've actually given me a lot. I mean, you kept me alive, you gave me advice, you were one of my first friends, and you're always there. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the one who owes you something."

"You owe me nothing, Naruto."

"Bullshit," he said softly, counting out five saucers. "By the way, when's your birthday?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Didn't really matter to a fox."

"Well that's no good." He frowned for a moment until he was hit by inspiration. "Fine. You can have the same birthday as me. If we're always gonna be together, we might as well always celebrate together." He exited the kitchen and walked over to her. "Shall we?" he asked, looking up at her expressionless face.

"Hm."

Naruto almost dropped the saucers when Satomi suddenly swooped down and placed her lips against his. His mind went blank as the only focus was on the soft feeling on his lips that lasted no more than three seconds.

"There," she whispered mischievously. "I gave you your first real kiss." Satomi plucked the sake cups out of his hands and moved gracefully out to the porch.

Naruto's heart thudded rapidly against his chest, contrary to his frozen body. Blood rushed to his face and he blinked very slowly while the sensation of her lips lingered in his mind. Forcing himself to calm down and act normally, he jerkily made his way outside, ignoring everyone's questioning gaze and Satomi's devious glint in her crimson eyes.

Team Seven settled down and sipped the pleasantly warm alcohol in comfortable silence, watching as colorful explosions of fireworks danced in the skies.

* * *

One lunar month after first being assigned their mission, Team Seven stood on the complete Great Kaiza Bridge. Satomi was in her fox form once again and perched on Naruto's shoulder. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari stood near them, seeing them off.

"Thank you all very much for your super help," Tazuna said solemnly as he bowed to each of them. "Be sure to visit sometime."

"We will," Kakashi replied. "Let us know if you ever need anything else."

"Good luck with the delivery," Sakura said while embracing Tsunami.

"Thanks," the woman chuckled dryly. "Hopefully, you guys can visit when he or she is born. If not, I'll send a picture."

"Please do," the pink-haired girl smiled back.

"Things are going to be just fine," Naruto said as he ruffled Inari's hair, "because you'll be here to protect everybody."

"Yeah," sniffled the boy. "I'll protect everyone and never give up, Naruto-nii-chan. I promise."

"Take good care of your little brother or sister," Sasuke murmured, waving slightly.

Inari nodded firmly. "I will, Sasuke-nii-chan."

"You've brought hope and courage back to our country," Tazuna proclaimed. "May you also be found as heroes in yours." He and his family bowed once more.

"May peace and prosperity flourish in your land and amongst your people," Kakashi replied. Team Seven returned the bows, turned around, and headed home.

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

ichime - a bit of a wordplay; can translate to "one eye" (一目) or "great slow eye" (偉遅目)

kingyo-sukui - goldfish scooping

fukuwarai - Lucky Laugh, a game where a blank face is given along with various parts to create a usually humorous visage

amazake - sweet sake

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, I got rid of the "Naruto-got-kidnapped-tortured-and-traumatized" card. After reading it over several times, I found it excessive and overused. The main point was to garner sympathy from Sasuke and Sakura, but I feel this is enough without pushing it. Sasuke, especially, is difficult enough to work with as it is.

This whole Wave episode marks the first major instance where this fic will deal with each genin's personal issues: Naruto's dream, Sasuke's vengeance, and Sakura's role. It's minute, I hope; I want it to feel natural.


	9. Interlude Two: That Demon Brat

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Hey, have you heard?"

"What's going on?"

"You know this year's Team Seven?"

"Team Seven?"

"Oh, you mean Team Kakashi?"

"Kakashi? _That_ Kakashi?"

"Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja? He's teaching genin now?"

"Yeah, I heard he came off active duty just for this."

"Wasn't he the son of the Shiroi Kiba?"

"Is that right? The son of that tragic man…"

"So, what about Kakashi's team?"

"Wait, isn't that the team with…"

"Yeah. _That_ kid."

"Eh? No way!"

"I still can't believe the Third let _him_ become a ninja."

"What's worse, that demon brat—"

"Shh!"

"Hmph. Anyway, as I was saying, that brat's on the same team as Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Oh gods."

"What the hell is the Third thinking?!"

"I pray for the children's safety, especially Uchiha-san's."

"Hell, I pray for the safety of the whole team."

"Hm? Hey, are you guys talking about Team Kakashi?"

"Yeah. Can you believe this shit?"

"Oh, you've heard?"

"Oh, what now?"

"You're not gonna believe this, but they just got back from a month-long mission."

"Month-long?"

"Oh right, they were escorting someone or some other business."

"Why did something like that take a month? That's a C-rank mission, isn't it?"

"Well, they had to protect the person for the duration. Something about building a bridge, but that's not important."

"I would assume so; it's just a bridge, right?"

"Yeah, but it's who they fought on the bridge."

"Who?"

"Kirigakure no Kijin."

"Who?!"

"No way!"

"Who's that?"

"Momochi Zabuza, holy shit."

"That's right. A-Class nukenin and one of the Shinobigatana Nananinshuu. The mission got bounced up to A-rank just because of that."

"And they didn't forfeit the mission?!"

"Well, it's a good thing Hatake-san was there, right?"

"That's the thing. Apparently, Kakashi-san reported that they fought twice. The first one, Zabuza was forced to retreat. The second time, it was the _genin_ who _defeated_ Zabuza."

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"Three _genin_ beat an A-Class nukenin?!"

"How the fuck…"

"You're joking. That's a really bad joke, man."

"Really, you're shitting us."

"Nope."

"Then…then it must've been because of the Uchiha!"

"That's right! The last Uchiha of a prodigal clan could easily surpass normal limits of genin!"

"Kakashi-san insisted all three of the genin worked together equally to defeat Zabuza _and_ his subordinate."

"That's…"

"Could he be covering something up?"

"Hatake-sama? He's one of the village's most distinguished ninja!"

"Even so…"

"You think he's protecting that _thing_?"

"I think that _thing's_ the one who really defeated Zabuza."

"What are you saying?"

"You don't mean…"

"What if the seal broke?"

"Oh may the Kami help us all."

"I don't think that's the case."

"Why so?"

"Well, they all came back alive and they seem to be friendly with each other."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Still, why would Hatake associate himself with—"

"Wasn't he the student of Yondaime-sama?"

"He was?"

"Oh yes, that's right!"

"Maybe he's keeping an eye on what's responsible for the death of his sensei."

"What a brave man."

"Or he's taking responsibility for the Yondaime's legacy."

"You call that thing a legacy?"

"Well, the Yondaime did leave him alive to us."

"The Yondaime should've killed him."

"Hey, what kind of talk is that?! He's still just a kid!"

"You know that's not possible anyway. That thing couldn't be killed."

"I don't like the feeling of this whole thing."

"I dunno. We'll have to see."

"I hope the Yondaime didn't condemn us all."

"If he did, don't you think the brat would've tried something by now?"

"Maybe it's just biding its time."

"We'll just have to wait and see. Unless, of course, you'd like to do something about it."

"No way. You remember what happened to the last people who tried something."

"Yeah, that kid has the Sandaime's favor."

"Now it looks like he also has the favor of Hatake Kakashi."

"And Uchiha Sasuke's."

"What makes you say that? Just because they're friendly?"

"Did you take a look at the back of that kid's jacket?"

"I make it a point to never look at that _boy_."

"I make it a point to not look at that fashion sense!"

"Seriously, what's up with that kid and orange?"

"None of you noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"He's carrying a small black and white Uchiha crest."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Isn't it supposed to be red and white?"

"What does that mean?"

"I looked it up. Since Uchiha Sasuke is the last Uchiha, he's perfectly within rights to do so."

"Do what?"

"A black and white crest means that person is an honorary brother or sister of the clan!"

"What did you just say?!"

"An honorary—"

"Bullshit!"

"No way…"

"The Uchiha, too…"

"Is that brat controlling their minds or something?"

"I find that highly unlikely, seeing as the whole village isn't under his control."

"Honorary brother of the Uchiha Clan?"

"Geez…"

"What the hell is going on…?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that's gotta be a lie."

"I'm thinking there might be more to this kid than we thought."

"Well, of course there is!"

"No, I mean…"

"What?"

"Oh, I see."

"No way in hell."

"But…"

"Even so—"

"We'll have to wait and see."

"I hope…"

"What?"

"I hope…we've been wrong about that kid."

"…"

**INTERLUDE OUT**

* * *

**Author's Note:** A glimpse of how the general populace views Team Seven, specifically Naruto, with a range of responses. I not only want to show the evolution of Team Seven, but also at least some the evolution of the people around them.


	10. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Momochi Zabuza?!" an office aide shouted loudly and the entire room went silent.

"The one and only," replied Kakashi calmly as his students nodded.

"…I know you sent a status report saying you and your team wouldn't return for some time, but you failed to mention the fact that you encountered, engaged, and defeated an A-class nukenin, Kakashi-kun." the Sandaime said as he picked up his pipe and prepared to take a puff. They had to give the old man credit; the only visible sign of surprise was that he had forgotten to light the tobacco.

"Actually, my students have the credit of defeating him, Hokage-sama."

The pipe's progress paused. "…Excuse me?"

"You must be joking, Hatake-san! Or at least mistaken!" shouted another office aide. "Momochi Zabuza, and you're saying three genin, wet behind the ears, survived against him _and_ defeated him?!"

Said genin all bristled and opened their mouths to retort, but Kakashi stopped them. The jounin calmly reached into his flak jacket and pulled out a scroll. Unfurling its length methodically, he waved his hand past the written kanji and channeled chakra into the scroll. There was a large puff of smoke and Kakashi held a massive zanbatou in his hand to everyone's amazement.

"Is that…Kubikiribouchou?!" the aide who had spoken up choked.

"What the…Kakashi-sensei, when'd you get this?" Naruto demanded.

"I thought it was incinerated along with Zabuza and the ship," Sakura murmured in wonder.

"Swords made for the Shinobigatana Nananin Shuu aren't destroyed so easily," replied Kakashi. "It washed up on shore nearby when I was fishing one day."

"That is indeed definitive proof," the Hokage said with a slightly breathy voice. "And for a relatively new genin team to take such an individual down…even I'm impressed, I must say." The teens each gave a mixed look of pride and embarrassment. "But Kakashi-kun, your client only paid the amount for a C-rank. Surely you realize you've been cheated. Why did you continue the mission regardless of this fact?"

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," Sasuke spoke up, "we weren't cheated at all."

"That's right," nodded Naruto. "And we couldn't give up the mission; we had to see it through, no matter what."

The Sandaime smiled softly. "Kakashi-kun, I will be expecting a full report of this mission later today."

"I will deliver it to you personally, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied, bowing.

"Alright. Here are your payments. You are all dismissed, and congratulations, I suppose, on completing an A-rank mission."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," they chorused and exited the building.

Hidden in a doorway, a pair of eyes watched them closely.

"Well," Kakashi said once they were outside, "you guys have the rest of the day off while I slave away in my poorly lit room writing up a boring report."

"Okay."

"Sounds good."

"Have fun."

"You guys are so mean," the jounin whined, but then turned serious. "Tomorrow, we'll be meeting at our usual grounds and I'll start training you guys with various jutsu." Their eyes widened.

"Really, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto gaped.

"Are you serious or just yanking our chain?" Sakura demanded. _'If you're joking, I'll burn your porno, shannaro!'_

Sasuke looked eager but also threw his teacher a glance that promised pain if he didn't meet their expectations.

"Thanks for the faith, guys," Kakashi muttered dryly. "But yes, we'll be training with new jutsu tomorrow. I need to draw up some scrolls or something for you guys." He backed up slightly when Naruto looked as though he was going to tackle him in a hug. "Well then, I'll see you guys tomorrow…hopefully sometime before noon." He gave an eye-smile and disappeared in smoke.

Sakura groaned in exasperation. "We're not home for two hours and Kakashi-sensei's already back to his usual habits." She looked at the boys and her lip twitched when Satomi poked her head out of Naruto's jacket. "So what do you guys have planned?"

"Something extremely important," Naruto replied seriously, causing them to tense. "Something that needs to be done right _now_."

* * *

"Ichiraku ramen, how I missed you so!" Naruto was practically sobbing with joy as he stuffed the salty noodles and broth into his mouth. Satomi sat nearby on the counter and her muzzle twitched in distaste.

"I should've seen this coming…why didn't I see this coming?" Sakura groaned as she stirred her bowl.

"At least he's paying," Sasuke shrugged, slurping his own noodles.

"We've missed you, y'know, Naruto," grinned Teuchi. "Regular customer for years suddenly disappears for a whole month."

"Otou-san and I got a little worried," added Ayame. "Were you on a mission?"

"Yep!" Naruto nodded as Teuchi set down a second bowl for him. "We've been in Nami no Kuni!"

"Nami no Kuni?" Ayame said, startled. "We've heard that they've been through some really tough times until recently."

Team Seven shared a smile.

"Oh-hoh," chuckled Teuchi, "what have you three been up to?"

"Well, we—"

"Heeey, Narutooo!"

Everyone turned to who had interrupted. Akimichi Chouji was walking up the street and waving, followed by Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino.

"Yo, Chouji, Shikamaru…!" Naruto waved back.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino squealed, bounding over and embracing him almost violently from behind.

"…And the dumb blonde Sasuke-glomping freak," muttered Naruto.

"Ino-buta, get the hell off of Sasuke-kun," Sakura growled.

"Why should I? Not like he's yours," Ino growled back.

"He's not anyone's, so show some form of dignity."

"Like the way you show that big forehead of yours?"

"Get off of me, Yamanaka," Sasuke said coldly before Sakura could inflict serious bodily harm to her rival.

Ino recoiled at his tone.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Naruto inquired, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Usually we have yakiniku, but Chouji was in the mood for ramen today," Shikamaru explained. "It was troublesome having to walk all this way across the village for it."

"Ichiraku's _is_ the best place for ramen, though," Chouji said sheepishly.

Suddenly, Naruto appeared in front of him and patted his shoulder.

"Chouji…you're a good man," the blond said solemnly.

His teammates sighed in exasperation.

"Hmph," Ino sniffed. "Doesn't matter where Chouji eats, he's still a de—_mmpf_?!" Naruto and Shikamaru had covered her mouth with their hands.

"De?" Chouji questioned with a low tone.

"Whatever you do, _don't_ call him a debu," Shikamaru hissed quietly.

"Unless you _want_ to be run over and skewered," Naruto added with a frightening amount of seriousness. They slowly lowered their hands.

"Eh-heh...I didn't say anything at all, Chouji!" Ino gave a weak chuckle.

Chouji gave her a suspicious gaze, but then shrugged and moved to sit at the counter of the ramen stand. Naruto and Shikamaru let out twin breaths of relief.

"Oi! Naruto!"

All present turned their heads to the opposite direction. Inuzuka Kiba was running up to the stand with Hyuuga Hinata closely behind him while Aburame Shino just walked up calmly behind his team members.

"Yo, Kiba," Naruto greeted. "What's the rush? Did you see a cat or something?" He turned to Hinata and Shino. "Been having fun with this guy on your team?" he grinned.

Hinata nodded shyly while Shino said quietly, "It can be tiring, but Kiba is an acceptable partner."

Naruto chuckled. _'Man, I don't think anyone knows much about Shino. Kinda creepy, but he also looks friendly enough.'_

"Ano…Ki-Kiba-kun is also a v-valuable member to our team," Hinata added while pressing her index fingers together and attempting several times to make eye contact with Naruto. Inwardly, she cursed herself for stuttering; Kiba and Shino always made a note to encourage her to speak and assert herself.

Nearby, Sasuke and Sakura watched while slurping their noodles.

_'Come to think of it, Hinata-san always seems to act more nervously when she's around Naruto,'_ Sakura thought. _'I've never seen her do that finger thing around anyone else.'_

'…_Oh, don't tell me…'_ Sasuke paused in his eating as he watched the Hyuuga heiress's actions. He turned to look at Sakura, who reciprocated, and after a few seconds, identical secretive smiles appeared on their faces.

"Never mind that!" Kiba suddenly snapped and advanced on Naruto. "Is it true, shrimp? Did you guys really just came back from an _A-rank_ mission?"

There was a stunned silence.

"Heh. Guess word travels fast," Sasuke smirked.

The silence grew heavier as various reactions of shock and disbelief occurred. Kiba's mouth was gaping, Hinata gasped quite loudly from behind him, and Shino's eyebrows rose considerably above his sunglasses. Chouji had begun to chew on his chopsticks absentmindedly, Shikamaru almost fell out of his seat, and Ino started to babble incoherently. Behind the ramen shop's counter, Teuchi was pouring an unhealthy quantity of soy sauce into a pot without realizing it, and Ayame swayed on her feet with an empty bowl loosening from her grip. Sakura quickly reached over and caught it when it finally slipped.

"Uhh…surprise?" Naruto quipped.

"Wha…how…?" Kiba choked out.

"It started out as a C-rank mission, but then, an A-class nukenin showed up," Sakura explained.

"Then…then it was because of your jounin sensei, right?" Ino stammered. "Your sensei took care of everything, or at least Sasuke-kun…"

"Kakashi-sensei held him off the first time with our help, but half a week later, we were on our own against him…and his subordinate," Naruto said smugly.

"And it took _all_ of us to beat them," Sasuke added. "Teamwork."

All the other genin saw nothing but truth in their eyes and fell silent once more.

"That's…that's amazing, Na-Naruto-kun, S-Sasuke-san, Sakura-san," Hinata whispered, feeling inferiority grasp her heart.

"Nah, it was a group effort like Sasuke said," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. He stole a quick glance at Satomi before looking back down at Hinata and frowned inwardly at her disposition. "Why are you looking like that, Hinata? I bet you guys could do the same. After all, Konoha's the best; we've got some pretty kickass ninja!" he grinned.

His confidence and cheerfulness were contagious, and Hinata found herself smiling shyly, using his words and nature to ruthlessly force her negative emotions away. She wanted to speak up and say something, anything, but her canine-affiliated teammate beat her to the punch.

"You're damn right we could! Anything you guys can do, we can do ten times better! We ain't gonna lose to you, and we're gonna prove it in the Chuunin Exams!" Kiba finished with a triumphant bark from Akamaru.

Naruto blinked in surprise and tried to recall what Iruka had once lectured about the Chuunin Exams. Unfortunately, his teacher had only mentioned it as a passing note and refused to go into details about it. _'Something about it being hosted in a different village every nine months?'_

Nearby, Sasuke grimaced faintly. _'I almost forgot about the Exams…'_

"Chuunin Exams?" Sakura spoke up after swallowing a bite of noodles. "The next one's going to be held soon in December, right? And you're all going to be entering?"

"Not if anyone wants to be suicidal," Shikamaru mumbled from the counter, eating a nice and simple shoyu ramen. "Isn't the next one being hosted in Iwagakure?" Everyone's faces darkened. "I heard our diplomats barely get out alive. You think our genin are going to survive in there? Killing is allowed in the Exams, they say."

"All because the Yondaime handed their asses to them on a silver platter," scoffed Kiba. "Damn bastards can hold a grudge."

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a quick look with Naruto. Most of the others didn't notice.

"The following Examinations in September would be a wiser choice," Shino said quietly from behind Kiba. "I believe they would then be held here in Konoha."

"A-Ano…Kurenai-sensei did say that a year of experience as genin was highly recommended," Hinata added.

"Guess we'll just sign up with that one, then," Kiba grinned. "It'll be right on our home turf anyway!"

"Well, we aren't, even if Konoha is hosting that one," Shikamaru said. "Being a chuunin sounds too troublesome. I don't feel like wasting the time and effort."

"Lazy bum," Ino muttered. "We'd only suffer if a guy like you became a chuunin."

"I think Shikamaru would make a really great chuunin," Chouji replied loyally, though his mouth was full of salty noodles. "But I'll go with whatever he decides."

"What?!" Ino screeched in indignation. "I thought we agreed _I_ was the leader of this team!"

"No, _you_ decided that on your own," Shikamaru replied calmly. "Us having a say in a group decision implies a form of democracy. What we have is a tyranny run by a troublesome—"

The following sounds that came from him were composed of muffled gurgling and choking; Ino had reached over and dunked the pineapple-haired boy's face into his bowl of ramen.

"Eh, what's that, Shikamaru?" Ino asked sweetly, ignoring his flailing arms and watery protests. "You need to chew and swallow your food before talking, you know." She looked up to see everyone staring at her cautiously. "Oh, don't worry, he'll be alright. Ninja are supposed to hold their breaths for long periods of time, right?" she quipped cheerfully, not letting up on her strength.

"Anyway," Kiba said hesitantly and glanced at Naruto, "how bout you guys?"

"Chuunin Exams in September, huh?" Naruto murmured thoughtfully. He looked over to his companions questioningly.

Sasuke smirked. "What was that about being ten times better than us, Inuzuka? Even if you trained everyday for the next year, that would still be impossible for you."

"Still blowing smoke out of your ass, eh, pretty boy?" Kiba grit out. "I'll make you eat those words after busting up your face a bit."

"Sorry, Kiba, but I'm going to have to agree with the bastard," Naruto said, mimicking Sasuke's smirk. "I mean, c'mon, ten times better than us? I think drinking all that toilet water messed with your head."

"I am going to rip you assholes a new one," he growled out with his eye twitching.

"That means I'm joining as well," Sakura sighed in a long-suffering manner. "At the very least, I have to keep you two in line."

"Dog boy started it," Sasuke shrugged.

Shino sighed quietly as he put his hand on his fuming teammate's shoulder to prevent any physical transgressions.

"You don't look so enthusiastic, Hinata," Naruto said suddenly, glancing in her direction.

The timid Hyuuga girl froze like a deer in headlights. "A-ano…I…i-it's just…that is…uhm…"

"You have nothing to be nervous about, Hinata," Shino said marginally softer than usual.

"Nervous? You kick the most ass on our team, Hinata!" Kiba shouted incredulously. "I mean, you've got the Byakugan and that Jyuuken thing and—"

"Perhaps we should not reveal too much," Shino interrupted a little testily.

"Ah, it's the freakin' Hyuuga; everyone knows about them. Well, maybe except Naruto, since he's a _special_ case."

"Go hump a leg," the blond shot back, extending his middle finger. Kiba just cackled and Naruto shook his head. Looking back to Hinata, he smiled. "They're right though, y'know. You have nothing to worry about. After all, if a baka like me can do it, someone like you definitely can, right?"

The heat that rushed to her face stunted her ability to think more carefully about her next words. "That's not true, Naruto-kun!" she shouted, surprising everyone. "You're not just some baka! You're the most amazing person I know and I…ah…" The redness on her face doubled and crept down her slender neck as she finally realized what she was saying. "Ah…" She teetered dangerously on her feet and her vision began to dim. _'Don't faint…don't faint…!'_

"Wh-whoa!" Naruto reached over and cradled her with one arm. "Are you alright, Hinata?!"

'_Too much…too much…!'_ With a soft "Nn…" the girl's silvery eyes rolled and closed as she blissfully escaped reality.

"O-oi! Hinata!" Naruto began panicking slightly.

"Relax, dumbass, she's just not feeling well," Kiba said a little hurriedly, moving over to take her from Naruto. "She probably got sick from standing so close to you."

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?! You saying I stink?!"

"Right in one," Kiba grinned. However, as Naruto slid Hinata gently into Kiba's arms, his grin faded and he adopted a pensive and confused look. "Y'know…I noticed something earlier, but now I'm sure of it. You smell a little…off."

"I bathe regularly, for fuck's sake!" Naruto groused.

"That's not it." Kiba's serious tone caused everyone to be on edge. "Your scent is…different. I can't explain it; it's confusing the hell outta me."

"Are you trying to pick a fight right here?" Naruto said, backing away. He fought to keep anxiety out of his features.

"As entertaining as that may be, we need to go," Sasuke said suddenly. He placed several bills on the counter as Sakura stood up. "C'mon, Naruto."

"A-alright!" He sighed inwardly with relief and ran over to the counter to let Satomi jump onto his shoulder. "Later, guys! Chuunin Exams in a year, don't forget! Wouldn't want you to miss the chance to get wiped all over the floor by us!"

"That's my line, ahou!" Kiba yelled.

"We'll be there, too," Ino added. She made direct eye contact with Sakura. "I won't lose to you, forehead, and I'll prove to Sasuke-kun that I'm a better woman for him than you!"

"Oh, you _will_ lose, Ino-buta, but as a kunoichi before a woman if you keep that attitude up," Sakura replied coolly.

"U-um…Ino…Shikamaru's not moving anymore," Chouji pointed out nervously.

"He's fine!" she snapped back, fuming.

Naruto laughed loudly as Team Seven walked out of sight.

Kiba sighed as he carefully set Hinata on a seat at the ramen counter. "Guess we might as well have a bite to eat while waiting for her to wake up."

"We're stuck here until this lazy bum's back on his feet too," Ino scowled, jerking her thumb at Shikamaru's unconscious form. No one dared to point out that it was her fault they had to do so. Her face turned thoughtful after a moment. "Did it seem like they were hiding something?"

"If they were, it is none of our business," Shino said calmly as he ordered a miso ramen. _'Though I do find it odd my bugs refused to get too close to Naruto.'_

"Meh. Team of weirdos," Kiba shrugged. _'But why do Akamaru and I feel so…apprehensive of Naruto?'_

Their thoughts, however, were thrown to the wind as something bizarre caught their eyes. After a pregnant pause, Kiba spoke their minds.

"Was that a box following them?"

* * *

"Thanks for the save, Sasuke," Naruto said softly as they walked through relatively deserted streets.

"Don't mention it," he replied gruffly. "You owe me a lunch, though; I ended up having to pay for that one."

"I paid that first time, you cheap bastard."

"Oh, so you're gonna go back on your word?"

Naruto muttered something incoherent, causing Sasuke to smirk triumphantly.

"I'm a little surprised about earlier," Sakura spoke up. "I expected you two to jump at the chance to take the Chuunin Exams as soon as possible, regardless of it being held in Iwagakure."

"What, you want to?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

"No, a year of experience before trying to become a chuunin sounds like a good idea." She hesitated before continuing, "It's just…I thought you guys would try to get stronger to accomplish your goals and dreams as quickly as you could."

Both boys paused in their steps and looked at each other in mild shock. They both glanced at Sakura, but then averted their gazes.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "If I'm prying too much, you don't have to answer."

"I don't know how to answer," Naruto chuckled uneasily.

Sasuke just grunted.

They all stayed in an awkward silence and continued walking aimlessly together. The air didn't change until much later, when they realized they had wandered onto Training Ground Seven. As one, they stopped in front of a trio of training logs, and Satomi leapt off to perch on one of them.

"I'm scared," Naruto said suddenly.

His friends turned to face him in shock.

"Not for me," he laughed quietly, "but for you guys, including Satomi and Kakashi-sensei. If we went to Iwa and they saw me…they could easily figure I'm the son of the Yondaime, their most hated enemy. They'd definitely try to do something and you guys would be the perfect targets…because you four are the most precious people to me." Sasuke and Sakura swallowed, but didn't say anything as Naruto pressed on. "Part of me really wants to say 'the hell with Iwa, we can handle them,' but it took all three of us to be on par with Haku. Satomi's power is nowhere near her original amount thanks to being sealed to a human soul, no offense," he glanced apologetically at the fox, "and we can't just rely on her and Kakashi to bail us out when we need it. But less than two months of training isn't enough for three genin to hold back all the ninja of Iwagakure." He stopped and they stood in contemplative silence for a while.

"I've…been thinking along the same lines," Sasuke said a little tightly. "I'm confident of our skills, and I'm not exactly thrilled to say all this, but Naruto's right. Our skills right now won't cut it and a month isn't enough." He clenched his fists and Naruto nodded darkly. "That, and…we're not ready to be chuunin. Chuunin are supposed to be able to lead teams and assume responsibilities for things greater than themselves."

"Iruka-sensei said that one time, didn't he?" Naruto mumbled fondly.

"Yeah," Sakura smiled. "He—"

They all froze and turned towards the new presence. A precisely rectangular box was edging closer and closer to them in a not so surreptitious manner. Furthermore, said box was decorated to look like what everyone assumed to be a rock, never mind the fact that the color was an entirely different shade than the actual forest ground. If anyone had taken a glance at Satomi, they would have been blessed with the vision of a comically incredulous expression that was completely out of place on a vulpine face.

"…I think I speak for all of us when I say: who are you and what the fuck are you doing?" Naruto demanded in a bewildered tone.

There was a hesitant pause before a muffled voice said, "As expected from my future teachers!" A cloud of colorful smoke erupted from beneath the box, followed by several seconds of coughing. When the cloud dissipated, it revealed a young boy wearing some sort of helmet with spiky hair jutting out of it. "Little too much smoke," he choked.

Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Do you know him?"

"Why the hell would I know such a weirdo?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Because _that_," Sasuke pointed at the boy, "looks like something _you_ would do." Sakura just nodded in agreement.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Even _I_ wouldn't be that obvious, teme." Multiple dry glances converged on him. "…You all suck."

"Oi, don't just ignore me!" yelled the boy. "Don't you know who I am?!"

"Obviously, we don't," Sakura sighed. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be asking."

Their uninvited guest flinched at the presented logic and looked at them in amazement. "You…you really don't…?" He shook his head. "I'm Konohamaru!"

"Konohamaru?" Naruto repeated, blinking. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's Sarutobi Konohamaru!" the boy groused. "My gramps named me it after the village."

"Sarutobi? I knew the Hokage had a grandchild, but I didn't know his name was Konohamaru," Sakura murmured.

"Of course not," Konohamaru scowled. "Everyone just sees me as the Hokage's honorable grandson."

Naruto looked thoughtful. "Didn't know the old man had a grandkid. So what do you want from us? Something about future teachers?"

"Yeah!" the youngster perked up. "I want you three to train me to become Hokage!"

"…Hah?" Naruto blinked.

"Oh gods, it _is_ a mini-Naruto," Sasuke groaned.

"Son of a bitch…kid, you're giving me a bad image. _Don't_ say anything, you two," he glared as Sasuke and Sakura feigned innocence. Sighing in exasperation, he turned back to Konohamaru. "What do you mean, train you to become Hokage?"

"Well, I already have a private tutor for that, but Ebisu-sensei is so lame! He teaches me a bunch of useless stuff and I've never heard of him doing anything as cool as taking down an A-class nukenin!"

"Are we being hero-worshipped?" Sakura whispered to Sasuke.

"You tell me," he hissed back. "You were one of my fangirls, weren't you?" She flushed and grimaced in response.

"What the hell?" Naruto frowned. "A private tutor to become Hokage? Who is this Ebisu-sensei anyway?"

"I am," said a figure as he stepped out from behind a tree. Everyone tensed and Konohamaru scowled darkly.

"None of us sensed him?" Sakura asked tightly.

"Jounin-level," Sasuke scoffed.

"_Tokubetsu_ jounin, if you please, Uchiha-san," Ebisu bowed his head slightly. When he glanced at Naruto, he adjusted his shades to cover up his scowl.

_'_That_ kid.'_

"You followed me, Ebisu?" Konohamaru demanded.

"Of course, omago-sama, and please address your teacher with the appropriate respect. You didn't show up for your afternoon lessons, but I didn't expect you to be collaborating with such _people_," he stressed while staring straight at Naruto, who glared right back.

"Is there a particular problem you have with us?" Sasuke asked coldly as he and Sakura stepped up beside Naruto.

"No, no, of course not, Uchiha-san," Ebisu said lightly, smiling and bowing again. He turned to his pupil. "Come along now, omago-sama."

"No! These three are going to be my new sensei! I don't need you anymore!"

"Omago-sama, I have told you many times that I am your best shortcut to becoming Hokage. Asking for their aid would be a waste of everyone's time."

"You're just saying that so you won't look so pathetic! You just want the glory of teaching the Hokage's grandson!"

"You're the pathetic one." Everyone turned to face Naruto's cold tone. "I refuse to teach someone like you. You don't deserve to be Hokage."

"Wha…?" Konohamaru murmured in a small, stunned voice.

"You see, omago-sama? I told you—"

"Shut up. You're even more pathetic than that kid is, feeding him lies all this time," Naruto growled.

"Excuse me?" The temperature around Ebisu dropped several degrees.

"You heard me, you half-baked poor excuse of a teacher," he spat. "There's no such thing as a shortcut in life, much less on the road to become Hokage. You don't learn how to be the strongest shinobi in Konoha from one person. You don't learn how to be singularly responsible for every life in the village and make decisions by placing everyone else above yourself from some private tutor. You can't learn how to care about and love all of Konohagakure by cutting corners. Anyone who thinks they can doesn't even deserve to be called a shinobi, much less Hokage."

"Uppity little brat," Ebisu ground out. "Allow me to teach you otherwise through pain!" The tokubetsu jounin shifted into a battle stance.

"Relax, guys," Naruto murmured as Sasuke and Sakura tensed beside him. "I got him." He formed a familiar cross seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**" A half dozen copies of him appeared.

"Interesting," Ebisu sneered, hiding his amazement. "But typical of an amateur: using numbers to try to overwhelm a superior foe."

"Confident, aren't you? But I know your weak point; I knew I've seen you somewhere before." Before Ebisu could respond, Naruto extended his arm and outstretched his fingers. "Go forth and conquer."

The clones charged forth with a few leaping into the air. Ebisu planted one foot back firmly to ready a counterattack as they all prepared the same hand seal. _'Why do I feel a chill down my back?'_

"**Henge!**" cried multiple voices.

Ebisu ran his hands through several seals for a defensive Doton jutsu, but when the smoke dissipated, one of his fingers twisted painfully against his palm in the middle of a transition. The registration of pain, however, never occurred in his brain.

"Ebisu-sama!" His limbs became heavy and immobilized. "Ebisu-sama!" Long blonde hair brushed his skin and face. "Ebisu-sama!" Ample and supple bare mounds pressed all over him. "Ebisu-sama!"

The tokubetsu jounin shrieked in an odd mixture of delight, agony, horror and disbelief as blood gushed from his nostrils, propelling him backwards a fair distance until he hit the floor, unconscious. Their job finished, the transformed clones disappeared.

"Harem no Jutsu, success!" Naruto grinned triumphantly and struck a pose. "The ultimate technique against closet perverts!"

"Amazing, oyabun!" cried Konohamaru, despite the fact he was blushing rather heavily. "But how'd you know that was his weakness?"

"I once saw him peeking into the women's hot springs," the blond shrugged. "And don't call me that; I still stand by what I said earlier."

Konohamaru faltered at the serious gaze Naruto was giving him, and he looked down at the ground. "You're right…you're not my oyabun. You're my rival." He raised his head with determined eyes. "I'll do things the right way, and when the time comes, I'll take the Hokage title from you!"

"Go for it," smiled Naruto. "Become someone I can respect…Konohamaru."

The boy's eyes shone brighter. "Un! I won't lose to any of you!" he shouted as he turned and ran off the training grounds.

"Cute kid," chuckled Naruto. When he turned back to face Satomi and his teammates, his light humor wavered.

Sasuke and Sakura were both glaring at him, though Sasuke's vexation was somewhat ruined because of his bright red face.

"Naruto…why do you have a technique like that?" Sakura asked in a tightly controlled voice.

"Uhh…w-well—"

"And what were you doing at the women's hot springs?" she continued.

"Erm…you see—"

"Naruto," she interrupted. "I'm glad you told us that you can't get too far away from Satomi." She cracked her knuckles and advanced slowly.

Behind her, Sasuke gave a two-fingered salute.

_'Oh fuck.'_

* * *

"Home sweet home," Naruto quipped dryly as he closed the door.

"Finally." Satomi stretched and her tails swished happily through the air. She had transformed as soon as she heard the lock click. "Pain in the ass to have to continue hiding my presence."

"Sorry," muttered Naruto as he went to the kitchen. He grabbed a hand towel, ran it under water, and stuck it in the microwave for several seconds. "Maybe we can get the old man to help make up a cover story. Should be alright as long as you hide the ears and tails." The machine beeped, and he took out the hot towel and placed it against the back of his aching head.

"Maybe. I could be a family friend," Satomi suggested wryly. "Your head should be fine by now."

"Yeah, the heat helped," he groaned softly. "Just because I regenerate fast, she found it necessary to use more force than normal. Scary girl." He tossed the towel into the sink.

"But amusing at times." She looked around their abode. "Where did you keep my red yukata?"

"In here." Naruto moved over to his dresser, opened a drawer and took it out. "Why?"

"I want to take a shower."

"Eh?"

"I rather enjoyed it the last time, and a month of using chakra to burn impurities off the skin isn't exactly the same as bathing."

"Why didn't you just use the shower at Tazuna's place like we did? All you said was that you'd be fine using a basic skill taught at the Academy."

"I'm shy around others," she deadpanned.

Naruto coughed exaggeratedly.

"I just didn't feel like it." She reached over and plucked the garment from his hands.

"I guess I'll take one after you; a shower does sound nice. Just don't use up all the hot water." He went to prepare a change of clothes so he could start washing their outfits.

"We can solve the hot water issue if we shower together." A smile graced her features as she watched him trip over his own feet and plant his face into the floor. He glared up at her with a flushed face while rubbing his nose. "Creator of the Oiroke no Jutsu and Harem no Jutsu, and you still react like this? Besides, you had to have seen that one coming; I haven't gotten the chance to tease you in a while."

Naruto muttered something under his breath about evil fox women and their bad habits as he pulled himself to his feet. Satomi chuckled and moved to the bathroom as the memory of her kiss jumped to the forefront of his mind.

He swallowed and wet his lips. "I…I would! But the shower's too small for the both of us!" His attempt to save face made her pause before she closed the bathroom door.

"Hou? Is that really so? Well, I suppose that _is_ somewhat true." She flicked her numerous tails for emphasis. "So if we find a new place with an adequately sized shower, you'd join me?" she asked lightly, turning her head to gaze at him with one hooded crimson eye.

"I…uh-buh…ye…nn…argh!" He broke eye contact by twisting his head to the side.

"You need work on your bluffing skills," she laughed. He looked back to retort, but she reached behind her and slowly pulled on the obi of her pseudo-kimono. It fell to the floor and she shrugged off the outer garment, revealing the skin-tight black pieces underneath. Winking, she closed the door and began humming.

Naruto fought to calm his racing pulse and he jerkily took off his jacket. Ever since Satomi had given him his birthday present, he tried to act as normally as possible around her, pushing the experience to the deep recesses of his mind. As he reached for his backpack and began clearing it out absentmindedly, he found himself questioning the nature of their relationship.

The sound of running water commenced from the bathroom, and his hand clasped around something slender and firm. He pulled out the flute Sakura had made for him and stared at it for a moment before shrugging. Sitting back against his bed in a more comfortable position, he put the wooden instrument to his mouth and began to play a simple melody from a song Sakura had taught him.

Something about a dead princess and a septette, whatever that was.

His mind resumed its wanderings as he repeated the easy song over and over. He thought about Satomi, about his friends, about the Chuunin Exams, and about the future. After several minutes, he stopped in mid-note.

"Ne, Satomi." He didn't bother to raise his voice; he knew she could still hear him and vice versa. "Do…do you think it's a bad thing for someone to…to change a dream they've worked hard for?"

"Why would it change?" The shower made it hard for him to distinguish her tone.

"I don't know…does it mean that person's…lost confidence or conviction in himself?"

"Few things are absolute in the world, Naruto. Even the things that determine your happiness, meaning, and purpose can change throughout life. What's important is to never stop searching for those things, and once you have them, never let go of them. You lose yourself only when you give all of that up."

Naruto stayed silent for a while before speaking again. "What makes you happy? Back in Nami no Kuni, you guys were talking about owing me, and I'd rather you not feel that way. What about for yourself?"

"Living for your sake is also living for mine. We can't even be on opposite sides of a large room without feeling those twinges. Can you imagine what it would be like if one of us died?"

Naruto grimaced and made a mental note to someday test how far they could risk. "But isn't there more you want?"

"Such as?"

"What if you weren't stuck with me?"

"What if's are pointless, Naruto. They don't change what we have now."

"And what _do_ we have now?"

As soon as the words escaped his lips, a large part of him wished he hadn't blurted them out. He suddenly felt apprehensive of her possible answers, especially more so when she didn't reply. The water turned off and the pair remained in silence.

"What we have," Satomi said suddenly, "are circumstances brought on by other factors. What we make out of them," she opened the door, revealing her fully clothed form, "is entirely up to us." She stared into his cerulean eyes. "What do you want to make out of us?"

"…I don't know."

She smiled. "We'll just have to see then."

* * *

"Pick a card, any card!" Kakashi quipped cheerfully, holding up three white pieces of paper.

"First you show up two hours late and now you're doing some lame trick?" Naruto grumbled as they each grabbed one.

"I spent all night preparing for my cute students' training, overslept because of it, and this is the thanks I receive?" Kakashi whined pitifully. "Besides," he turned serious and took a card out of his vest pocket for himself, "this is a rather useful trick."

He channeled a little chakra into it and the genin watched in amazement as the paper crumpled itself, a corner became wet, and another corner lit on fire.

"Let's give a big round of applause for Kondou Kakashi and his magic paper!"

His pupils just stared at him.

"I think even the crickets feel too awkward," muttered Sasuke.

"Please, just get on with it, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura pleaded as she rubbed her temples.

The jounin gave a dejected sigh but began explaining. "Chakra filter paper identifies which element, or elements, a person has an affinity with, and that'll help us narrow down which jutsu I should teach each of you. You just channel a bit of chakra into the paper and watch what happens. If the paper crinkles, that'll call for Raiton jutsu. If it becomes wet, Suiton jutsu. If it burns, Katon. If it turns to dust, we'll have Doton, and if a cut appears on the paper, that's Fuuton."

"Affinities…so we'd have an easier time learning jutsu corresponding to our elements?" Sakura clarified.

"Yep. Most people specialize in one, and some have two. Very few have three, and don't even think about four or five; those are practically unheard of. Well, when you guys are ready, go ahead and give it a whirl."

Sasuke wasted no more time and a second later, they watched as his paper crinkled and lit aflame. _'Lightning, too?'_

"No surprises with the fire," Kakashi nodded. "The Uchiha Clan always had a particularly strong affinity for Katon jutsu. Lightning, on the other hand…well I guess it figures. Who's next?"

"Me, me!" Naruto quickly concentrated on the paper, which split down the middle and burst into flame so quickly that it singed his fingers and he had to drop it.

"A little chakra would've been fine, Naruto," Kakashi said dryly. The blond just laughed sheepishly. "Wind…that's pretty rare in Konoha. I personally only know two people with that affinity."

"Who?" Naruto asked curiously.

"The jounin sensei of Team Ten…and your father," Kakashi replied softly. Naruto made a small 'o' with his mouth. "And the fire must be from…" He gave a neutral look to a humanoid Satomi, minus the ears and tails; Kakashi had warded Training Ground Seven with paper seals borrowed from the Sandaime to help alert them of any intruders. "Well, I'm sure Sasuke can help teach you quite a bit of Katon jutsu too. Okay, lastly, but certainly not least, Sakura."

They all turned expectantly towards the pink-haired girl. She nodded firmly, took a quick breath, and focused. Everyone stared in shock at the results.

"…Well, I'll be damned," whistled Kakashi after several moments. "I knew you had excellent chakra control, but…wow…even Hokage-sama only has two affinities." The girl flushed and fidgeted under her team's awe.

"Kickass," murmured Naruto. "So she can learn any jutsu easily?"

"She'd have an easier time learning elemental jutsu within her chakra capacity," Kakashi corrected. "Still, this is astounding. Was anyone else in your family a ninja, Sakura?"

"N-no. I'm the first one ever to become one," she replied. There was a slight tension in her voice.

"Huh. What a trio you guys make," chuckled Kakashi. "A stamina-crazed hybrid, an offense nut with the Sharingan, and a damn near perfect support unit. So much for balancing teams out," he laughed. "Not to mention each one of you is going to have further training unique to your circumstances." The looked confusedly at each other while Kakashi turned his head towards Satomi. "I'm willing to bet you're going to teach Naruto things only available to the two of you."

"The thought had crossed my mind," she nodded. "You'll be guiding the Uchiha on how to use the Sharingan?"

"And I might teach him and Sakura my only original technique, since they have the lightning affinity," Kakashi added, winking at them. Sasuke couldn't keep the excitement and eagerness off his face. "But Sakura has arguably the most important skills to learn, if you so choose," he said, turning to her.

"Anything to help," she replied immediately.

Kakashi smiled, reached into his vest, and pulled out a slightly worn-out scroll. He handed it almost reverently to Sakura, who took it carefully and opened it.

"_A Novice's Guide to Basic Iryoujutsu_," she read, "_by Hatake Rin_…? Hatake?"

The three teens all whipped their heads towards Kakashi, and even Satomi gave a look of surprise. The silver-haired man said nothing at first and looked towards the sky with a distant gaze.

"Medical techniques can only be mastered by those with high intellect and precise chakra control. Of course, it's mainly used as a means of keeping your teammates alive, but it can easily turn into a deadly means of combat. It's a difficult field and it'll require a lot of effort; I recommend volunteering at hospitals and studying anatomy and physiology in much more detail than they gave you at the Academy. Like I said, though, the choice is all yours."

Sakura swallowed. "And like I said, I'll do anything to help," she nodded resolutely. "I've only heard bits and pieces about iryoujutsu and I've always been interested."

Kakashi smiled, but he didn't avert his eye from the clear skies above. "Take good care of my wife's scroll. I'm sure she would've been happy knowing one of my students chose to follow the path she took."

Sakura clutched the treasured item closely. "I will, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi shook his head lightly to clear it and looked back down to his students. "Back to business," he said, taking a deep breath and clearing his throat. "It's a good thing I made three copies of each category." He reached down to a bag he had set beside a training log. After fumbling through it a bit, he handed two scrolls to each Naruto and Sasuke, and five to Sakura. "Each scroll contains three jutsu of the corresponding element. Take a look at them and decide which jutsu you want to start learning first. Before you actually attempt to though, maybe Sasuke and Sakura should finish mastering the Kage Bunshin."

"Why's that?" Sasuke questioned.

"Well, as Naruto might have noticed, once a Kage Bunshin disperses, the memories of its experiences are assimilated back into the user's mind." The aforementioned genin nodded in confirmation.

"So," Sakura caught on, "if we have our Kage Bunshin train with us…"

"We could learn jutsu faster than normal, depending on how many we make at a time," Sasuke finished, his eyes lighting up in anticipation.

"Depending on how many you _can_ make at a time, along with how much information influx you can handle," Kakashi replied. "I can probably make six or seven clones with enough chakra to practice an A-rank jutsu a fair amount of times, but if I dispel them all at once after I'm done, I'll get a migraine and sleep like the dead for over half a day. It's one thing to know when your clone attacks someone or learns a piece of info while spying, but it's another thing to understand concepts and implementations of something that's being taught to multiple clones. That's one of the reasons why Minato-sensei made it a kinjutsu; it's easy to overload yourself and shatter your mental processes. The other reason is experiencing the deaths of your Kage Bunshin in battle."

They all glanced at Naruto, who turned grim.

"Yeah…I let them know about that…" Naruto unconsciously scratched his abdomen at the thought of getting sliced by Zabuza's zanbatou.

"That's why I said _maybe_ it would be a good idea for you two to master it," their sensei stressed.

"The benefits outweigh the risks, at least in my mind," Sasuke replied immediately. "Besides, I've almost got the hang of it. No sense stopping now."

"Exactly," Sakura nodded.

"I figured you two wouldn't back down," Kakashi said wryly.

"My dad made it a kinjutsu…" Naruto murmured suddenly. "That reminds me! I saw the scroll he wrote it in! I can't believe I'd forgotten about it all this time! I should ask Sandaime-ojii if we could have a look at it."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kakashi nodded. "Sensei had some amazing techniques in his arsenal, including a couple he invented himself that he wanted to teach you when you were old enough."

"You sure you're alright with us looking at that scroll too, Naruto?" Sakura inquired softly. "After all, it was _your_ father who wrote it."

"Yeah, but it's not like all of them are family jutsu or something, and I already taught you the Kage Bunshin…sorta. Besides, you guys are practically my family now," he shrugged.

"Don't get all sappy on us, dobe," Sasuke muttered, though everyone was smiling lightly.

"Still, I wouldn't feel comfortable learning things your father developed and planned to pass onto you," Sakura insisted.

"Same here," Sasuke nodded. "Even though it's tempting as hell to learn a technique invented by the Yondaime."

Naruto grinned.

"That's alright; the lightning technique I could teach you, and Sakura, if she wants, is probably on par with one of sensei's techniques," boasted Kakashi. "I'd always wanted to try it against him, but they most likely would've caused serious damage to the both of us." He gave a stern look at Naruto and Sasuke. "Don't even think about it."

They both looked away innocently.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "We'll also be doing a new exercise to further increase your chakra controls and capacities."

"No more trees?" Naruto asked.

"Well, they're good for warming up now, but you're going to learn how to walk on water instead."

"Oh wow," murmured Sakura. "That sounds a lot harder than trees."

"It is," their teacher nodded. "You're dealing with a liquid that constantly shifts according to what you do to it. Your chakra must be able to shift along with it." He motioned from them to follow and the group made their way to the nearby lake. Standing on the edge of it, he focused chakra into the soles of his feet and stepped on the water's surface as though it were solid rock. "As with the trees, I'm going to let you guys figure out the trick to this one, so try your best and help each other out."

The trio of genin glanced at each other and nodded firmly. They each took off their pouches and placed them on the bank of the lake along with their scrolls. They moved closer to the water, took deep, calming breaths and concentrated. As one, they lifted their feet and stepped forward. Three simultaneous splashes resounded through the air. Kakashi moved closer as three sputtering, coughing heads resurfaced.

"I knew that was going to happen," he snickered. "Really should've brought a camera." Triple growls answered him and they all shared the same idea; their hands shot up, latched onto Kakashi's legs and pulled him downwards. To their dismay, however, Kakashi melded into the water.

"Mizu Bunshin?" Sasuke asked disbelievingly as they looked around.

"Mmhmm," Kakashi replied superiorly from beside a tree several yards away. "I knew _that_ was gonna happen too."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Naruto grumbled to Satomi. "You must've known, right?"

"And deprive myself of this entertainment? Unlikely," she retorted, smiling. She sidestepped the water that Naruto flung towards her.

"Settle down, kids," Kakashi quipped. "And try, try again."

They muttered select curses under their breath as they waded back onto land. Naruto took off his jacket and laid it out on the grass to dry. He reached for the waistline of his pants.

"Don't even think about it, dobe," Sasuke muttered. Sakura had a panicked look on her face while Kakashi started humming a lewd, suggestive melody.

"I like where this is going," Satomi quipped.

Naruto slapped his forehead as his face tinged with red and he continued attempting to stand on the water, steadfastly ignoring them and keeping the rest of his clothes on.

_'Good idea though,' _Sasuke grumbled in his mind, uncomfortable with the feeling of wet clothing. _'Should've worn something underneath.'_ He stole a quick glance at Sakura and debated with himself. _'Oh, what the hell.'_ Before he could rethink his actions, he quickly peeled his shirt off himself, revealing a pale, but slightly well defined body.

"Sasuke-kun?!" Sakura squeaked. The panicked look had returned to her face with a vengeance, but this time, it was reinforced with embarrassment.

Kakashi gave a wolf whistle. _'Didn't expect him to do that.'_

_'Oh, this is good.'_ Satomi fought off the urge to throw Kakashi a thumbs-up for the amusement his training brought.

"Oi, teme, quit trying to show off!" Naruto catcalled, climbing back onto dry land.

"Jealous?" Sasuke threw back, though he was blushing slightly. "If you've got it, flaunt it, right?"

"Jealous?! Is your brain waterlogged?" Naruto nearly ripped off his black T-shirt. "Compared to me, you ain't got shit."

"I smell a dick-measuring contest," Satomi snickered.

"No!" Sakura nearly screamed, her face practically aflame. "Don't you two dare!"

"We weren't—"

"Kitsune, you—"

"What, you're not even the least bit curious?" Satomi asked Sakura, ignoring the boys.

"No! Absolutely not! Not ever! Why would I?! I've never once thought about how big Sasuke-kun would be—"

"Sakura?!" Sasuke shouted, effectively cutting off her babbling.

"Always the quiet ones," Kakashi laughed. Sakura just wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Naruto sighed. _'It's going to be a long year.'_

* * *

"So Konoha will be hosting the Chuunin Exams again in a year."

"Hai."

"Ah, what fond memories. Well, that gives us a little more time to prepare things, wouldn't you say?"

"It is somewhat surprising Iwa didn't take the offer immediately."

"Oh, I imagine it was quite tempting. They'll come around."

"Who are the next candidates?"

"Send messages to the Raikage and the Kazekage."

"Not the Mizukage?"

"Kiri won't be of much help; they're too busy dealing with the fact that the Nananin Shuu have gone rogue."

"What will you have me do next?"

"I believe a promotion is in order."

"…I'm honored by your confidence."

"Such a cheeky subordinate."

"I live to serve you."

"Liar. You do have your uses, though."

"Do you think this will be enough time? We've only begun recruiting a year ago."

"What I plan to do for the Chuunin Exams isn't too big of a deal. I merely wish to set certain events into motion. Afterwards, it's just a matter of patience."

"It amazes me you've been patient this long already."

"Well, why wouldn't I be? After all, I practically have all the time in the world."

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

ano - "um", "well", or "that is"

debu - fatass

ahou - moron

omago - young master

oyabun - boss

tokubetsu - special

Kubikiribouchou - Decapitating Carving Knife

(Kiri no) Shinobigatana Nananin Shuu - Seven Swordsmen (of the Mist)

iryoujutsu - medical technique

Byakugan - literally "White Eyes"

Jyuuken - Gentle Fist

kondou - translates to "confusion," but also "mixing" or "merger" (honoring Obito at the same time)

* * *

**Author's Note:** Some minor changes here and there in the revision, but nothing too profound.

I deliberately pushed back the Exams in favor of more character development time before everything goes to hell. There's no special reason for the non-canonical nine-month cycle. I just thought it'd make more sense to hold an Exam so that it coincides with a different season each time. Weather and terrain are important things to keep in mind when forming tactics after all. I also wanted to lengthen the time because the promotion from a mere genin to a chuunin, a captain, should be treated accordingly.

The main issue of this chapter is Sakura. Much to some readers' bewilderment, yes, she has an affinity with all five elements. She is _attuned_ to them as a result of her chakra control, not _adept_ at them. I take care not to make people overpowered.

I'm a bit of a gamer. My idea of Team Seven revolves around MMORPG gameplay mechanics. Bear with me; this is going to get nerdy.

I see Naruto as the frontline, the tank who dishes out AoE damage. Sasuke is the midline who can spike with high single target DPS. Sakura is the backline, the support and the backbone of the party. Obviously, it's not actually that clean-cut, but that's the theory behind my thoughts.

Satomi and Kakashi? I try to think of them as those special NPC allies that you only get for certain quests.


	11. Interlude Three: Carpe Diem

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Death changes a person. That is, the personal experience with the absolute and final _end_ of all that makes up life, more often than not, causes a person to redefine their own life.

Uchiha Sasuke had two very personal and very close experiences with death.

The first is more indirect; the massacre of his entire clan, at the hands of the elder brother he had adored so much, left him filled with despair, rage and hatred. Yet, as he clung onto the prospect of vengeance, he realized there was an ever-present question of "Why?" and it would always be accompanied by memories of their now-broken bond.

There were times when his brother had forsaken numerous studies and rigorous training in order to play with him and show him amazing things he had learned at an even more amazing rate. There were times when his brother had carried him on his back with ease and gentleness whenever he was tired or got too enthusiastic in his quest to mimic his beloved older sibling. There was even a fond memory of a short conversation they once had, a year before his brother joined ANBU.

"_Did you know, Sasuke, your first word was 'Nii?' I had never known true peace and happiness until then. I promised myself I would always protect you."_

And then, that terrible night, his brother had lied to him. His brother had tortured him, condemned him, and planted a dark seed within him. But in the midst of the darkness in his heart, Uchiha Sasuke desperately wanted to know something:

'_Why did you break your promise?'_

He hated, like his brother said to. He detested, like his brother said to. But stronger than those was an obsessive desire to answer the question. If it had to be pried from his brother with force, so be it. If he had to kill his brother to gain peace of mind, so be it. If he had to die by his brother's hand to do so, so be it.

And then Uchiha Sasuke died.

Well, it would be more accurate to say that after being forced into a near-death state at the hands of Haku, Uchiha Sasuke slipped into the border between life and death. It had not been what he had expected.

* * *

_The place was familiar; it was the dock on which he had practiced the Goukakyuu no Jutsu so earnestly. The person standing on the dock with his back turned was familiar as well. It was his brother, dressed in civilian clothing. But just because he was familiar did not mean he wasn't surprising._

"_Itachi! You—"_

_The raging words died in his throat as the man turned around to face him. The eyes of the man were not the cold, steely crimson eyes of a ruthless murderer from that fateful night. No, these eyes were the warm, caring onyx eyes of his cherished brother._

"_Hello, otouto."_

_Sasuke felt like he was a child again, and when he looked down at his hands, he realized he was. Bewilderment pushed aside the anger._

"_Is…is this real? Are you really dead? Am I…?"_

"_It is as real as you want it to be."_

"_Why are you here?"_

"_I am here because you want me to be."_

"_Don't play games with me, Itachi! I want answers!"_

"_You are still so foolish, otouto." Itachi beckoned him closer with his hand and turned to face the water. Sasuke hesitated at the gesture and defenseless aura, and he slowly moved towards him. This had to be a dream anyway._

_Silence reigned for a few moments as the brothers looked over the lake._

"…_I didn't even get a chance to avenge our family."_

"_You can do it here, if you so wish."_

"_It wouldn't matter here!"_

_The elder brother tsked and frowned. _"_Still so foolish."_

_The younger brother bristled and scowled. _"_What?"_

"_It would matter outside?"_

"_Of course it would! A lot of things would! There're still things I wanted to do!"_

"_Such as?"_

_And Uchiha Sasuke, looking down, realized there really were many things he still wanted to do. Of course, there were the issues regarding his brother and the revival of his clan, but…_

_Two fingers tapped him on the forehead with that familiar and moderate force, causing Sasuke to flinch and close his eyes momentarily, even as he felt an ache in his heart._

"_But that can't be all, right?"_

_Sasuke looked back up at the changed voice and was startled to see the older, genin version of himself._

"_What do you want, Uchiha Sasuke?"_

* * *

He wanted answers from his brother. He wanted to avenge his clan. He wanted to usher in a new era for the name "Uchiha."

But there were also things he wanted that didn't have to do with the dead.

He wanted to become powerful in his own right, in the sense where he stood beyond the shadow of his clan name and the fact that two people he knew personally were human-demon hybrids.

He wanted to reawaken the boy inside him who was forced to mature too soon, even in the world of shinobi.

He wanted to preserve the days with Team Seven, days that were filled with interactions that made him forget, even for a second, about the tragedy in his past and the duty in his present.

He wanted to find and hold onto whatever happiness he could find.

Quite simply put, Uchiha Sasuke wanted more out of life. That was his choice.

But when he was restored to the land of the living, the problem was, he had no idea where to begin.

So, one day, after a long session of training with his team, and Kakashi disappearing as usual with Naruto and Satomi going home…

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, do you want to train a little longer?"

He opened his mouth and wanted to say something meaningful. Something spur-of-the-moment. Something that could bring more out of life.

A compliment, perhaps? A challenge? A whimsical indulgence?

"Sasuke-kun?"

"…Yeah."

She smiled. "Okay."

When she looked down to consult the scroll again, he murmured, "…Thank you, Sakura."

She glanced back up in surprise, but he had already turned around to face a training log. Misinterpreting, she replied, "Anytime, Sasuke-kun."

Ah, well. Small steps.

**INTERLUDE OUT**

* * *

**Author's Note: **As I mentioned before, Sasuke is a delicate one to work with. I don't aim to dull his vengeance, rest assured. I want to temper it.


	12. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

_**Late December**_

Something was wrong with his team.

_'Well, maybe not wrong per se, but something's definitely up,' _Kakashi thought to himself while watching them.

Naruto took a single, wobbling step onto the small lake, teetered on it for all of three seconds, then went down with a curse and a splash. After discussing his and Satomi's situation with his team, they came to a conclusion.

"_Listen, Naruto,"_ Sakura had said, _"if you'll recall from _basic_ lessons at the Academy…"_

Here, he had to laugh sheepishly.

"…_chakra is a combination of physical being and spiritual strength. I imagine that since you two are running around with essentially half a soul each, that throws all conventional ideas of chakra out the window. It must be like trying to tie your shoes with only one hand."_

Which pretty much summed it all up brilliantly. Even Satomi had admitted her relative difficulty with summoning her foxfire and illusions.

So, while she attempted to harmonize her new existence and handicaps with quiet fury and tentative testing, Naruto tackled the problem by throwing himself into the water-walking exercise.

Sasuke fared somewhat better with it; he could stay upright, albeit unstably, for a few moments before sinking slowly like a ship. Sakura, of course, had been the first one to successfully stand on the water, though it had taken her over two weeks, and she could only walk a few meters at a slow pace.

Satomi stood at the edge of the water, amusing herself by tossing purple flames at Naruto every now and then to screw with his concentration. Of course, unbeknownst to Naruto, these flames were illusionary, unlike the ones she had used against Zabuza.

Sasuke was swearing softly at a regular rate as he practiced Yurihari no Jutsu on a training log. He had decided to focus on learning how to channel Raiton jutsu due to the prospect of learning Kakashi's still-unrevealed original technique. Wearing a new black shirt with his trademark clan insignia on the back and dark blue training gi pants, he continually shocked his own fingers instead of the log. Both items of clothing had been purchased at a shop Satomi had surprisingly recommended to him when he mentioned getting a new outfit.

Sakura sat against a log next to Sasuke's, reading the iryoujutsu scroll intently and scribbling down lengthy notes in a notebook. Every so often, after Sasuke had sufficiently numbed his finger, he would kneel down next to her, and she would practice relieving the lack of sensation in his digit. However, her ministrations would fail, since this was her first day actually attempting to use iryoujutsu, and Sasuke would nod encouragingly, then meditate next to her while waiting for the numbness to ease. She, in turn, would resolve herself and continue her studies.

It all seemed normal enough, even by their standards, but there were little things here and there that made Kakashi ponder. For example, when Naruto would glance at Satomi, his face didn't just show apprehension of when she'd throw the next fireball, but also held some deeper emotion that looked suspiciously like…longing. The jounin got the same feeling of dread as he watched Sasuke and Sakura steadfastly avoid looking at each other in the eyes.

"…Oh no," he muttered to himself.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto shouted towards him, causing Sasuke and Sakura to turn in his direction as well.

He mentally hit himself; he had momentarily forgotten that one of the first things Satomi had taught Naruto was to control his heightened senses. Naruto already had the senses of a typical shinobi, but when he concentrated on a particular form of sensory information, it became that of a fox's.

"_You're already dense enough as it is,"_ Satomi had said to the teen. _"In order to compensate for that, I want you to learn how to constantly focus on sight, scent, and hearing until it's practically second nature to you or there'll be hell to pay."_

Apparently, today, he was more focused on hearing as to discern when Satomi would flick one of her tails.

"Nothing," Kakashi replied easily. "Just hoping I didn't leave the stove on at home." There was a mixture of groaning, eye rolling, and head shaking.

"Sadly, I can see that happening," Sakura muttered.

"At least then, he'd have a legitimate excuse to be late for once," said Sasuke, shrugging.

"My excuses are always legitimate." They could practically hear the pout in his voice as various memories came to all their minds.

* * *

_"A squirrel stole my favorite mask as I was waking up."_

_"I fell into a well and ended up five hundred years in the past."_

_"When I woke up, there was a blonde girl in armor asking if I was her Master."_

_"I left home without putting on any pants and got arrested for public indecency."_

_"I found this book and when I opened it, all these weird cards flew all over the village."_

_"I met this little white creature that asked for young girls to form contracts with."_

_"I got up on the wrong side of the bed, so I had to redo my sleep to get it right."_

_"I was digging in my backyard and I found this giant metal face."_

_"When I woke up this morning, I saw lines everywhere and got a huge headache."_

* * *

"Always legitimate, my ass," Naruto scoffed.

"Okay, _sometimes_ legitimate," the jounin amended. Everyone snorted and went back to whatever they were doing. Kakashi sighed piteously and continued reading his little orange book. The relative peace ensued until…

"Will you stop throwing those at me?!" Naruto yelled loudly, disrupting his team.

"Come and make me," Satomi taunted smugly. "If you can."

Did she just stick her tongue out at him?

The rest of Team Seven watched as he suddenly leapt towards Satomi, who nimbly hopped back to avoid him. Naruto growled in frustration as he quickly made four clones to try and overwhelm her. As they all charged from different angles, however, she responded by simply transforming into her fox form and darting under the blond crowd. Naruto decided to follow her example, and he and his clones shifted into more agile vulpine bodies. It was more than mildly enjoyable to watch half a dozen foxes run around the area, even more so when Satomi started to eliminate the Shadow Clones by occasionally going on the offensive. She pivoted and twisted here and there, changing her path abruptly to dodge and land a solid headbutt, a fierce tackle, or a quick bite to the neck. Nevertheless, as she bit down on the final clone, Naruto shot up from behind and pounced on her. The two tussled, growled, and yipped while snapping their jaws and swiping their paws at each other in a struggle for domination.

"Shouldn't we stop them before they hurt each other or something?" Sasuke muttered to Sakura.

"I don't know," she replied hesitantly. "They look almost…playful." Sasuke gave her a half-disbelieving, half-bewildered look. The pair of foxes stopped in their actions as her words reached their ears, staring at each other as if they finally realized exactly what they were doing.

"Well, that certainly was cute," Kakashi spoke up, "but if you two could change back, Naruto can start his taijutsu exercises for Sasuke."

Naruto immediately transformed back, revealing that he was flushing a fair amount. Ignoring the stares of his teammates, he made a single Kage Bunshin with an abundant amount of chakra and they faced each other. Satomi trotted over beside Kakashi at a slight hand gesture he made unnoticed by the genin and changed back to her humanoid form.

"Ready, Sasuke?" Naruto called out, not averting his eyes from his Kage Bunshin.

The Uchiha closed his eyes and concentrated. Two seconds later, his Sharingan was activated with its one tomoe in the left eye and two in the right. "Aa," he affirmed.

The two Narutos rushed towards each other with fists raised and they engaged in physical combat. Granted, the attacks were a mixture of sloppy, unrefined Academy-taught moves and street brawling, but they were random enough to make good practice for Sasuke's incomplete Sharingan, who was watching closely and reading their movements. Sakura, on the other hand, continued to diligently go over her scroll.

"Kitsune," Kakashi whispered very softly under his breath after a few moments.

"What, ichime?" Satomi replied in the same volume.

"About earlier…" He hesitated, searching for the right words. "Was that…" He paused again.

"Eloquent, aren't we?" she sneered dryly. "Just spit it out."

"…It's winter."

"Your point being?"

"You're playing dumb. There's no way you can't know—"

"Of course I know."

"Does Naruto?"

"No, but I'm sure he's at least noticed something."

They fell silent again, looking on as Naruto continued exchanging blows with himself. It did not escape their notice that the blonds' postures crouched lower and lower, sometimes going on all fours to move easier, and that more often than not, when they swung their arms, their fingers were not closed in fists, but flexed. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, they realized his eyes were a shade darker than usual.

"Are you going to tell him?" Kakashi inquired.

"Only when he asks."

"…I hope you two aren't going to—"

"Absolutely not." She turned slightly to look out the corner of her eyes at the jounin for emphasis. "…You _are_ quite the pervert."

"That's not what I meant," he replied quickly and tersely. "He's still young and you—"

"Spare me the protective adult figure routine. Besides, do you really think Naruto would want to try anything?"

"He just might, but it wouldn't exactly be under his own volition. Or yours, for that matter."

"Oh, I wouldn't exactly complain if he did," she said lightly, smiling enticingly to herself. "Now's just not the best of times to do so."

"…This is getting both disturbing and awkward."

"You started it."

A puff of smoke signaled the end of Naruto's little tête-à-tête. Panting slightly, he said, "I could've pushed a little more chakra into that one."

"As long as you don't make it unstable and turn it into a bomb," Kakashi reminded him.

"I'm going to end up fighting like you," Sasuke grimaced, keeping his Sharingan active. "Complete lack of grace and form."

"Gets the job done," Naruto retorted, sniffing defensively.

"Here, I'll spar with you next, Naruto," Sakura said as she set down her studies. "I won't be as challenging as him to follow though," she warned Sasuke.

"It'd be a welcome break," he replied with light humor in his voice.

"Yes, Sasuke, watch Sakura _veeery_ closely now," Naruto snickered then yelped as he ducked and two kunai flew over where his head used to be. "Touchy."

"Shut up and get ready," Sakura growled, cracking her knuckles.

"Hai, hai," Naruto waved at her dismissively. He paused as he caught sight of his hands. "Hang on. I'm not sure this is safe."

"We've been over this before, Naruto," she sighed in frustration. "I can handle whatever you and Sasuke-kun can dish out."

"I mean these," he clarified, holding up his clawed digits.

"Oh." Sakura blinked in surprise and uncertainty. Pushing aside her apprehension, she pointed out, "Your eyes have gotten a bit darker and the pupils are slit too."

"Fuck," he cursed. Seeing some unease in her eyes, he also muttered, "Sorry."

"No, it's alright," she amended quickly. "Just not used to it; the last time I saw it was in Nami no Kuni." She moved closer to him in a reassuring manner.

"I didn't even realize it," Naruto murmured, flexing his fingers.

"You've been tapping into your baser instincts more," Satomi spoke off to the side. "Don't be surprised to see it manifest so easily."

"It's alright, Naruto," Sakura insisted. "I can handle a few scratches."

"Underestimate our claws and you'll end up losing something; he might as well have kunai as fingers now," Satomi warned. She looked at Naruto. "And if you're scared of harming her too much with those, either control your strength or control your instincts."

Naruto grunted as he breathed in deeply and slid into a battle stance. _'Always comes down to control,'_ he grumbled in his mind.

* * *

_"Yo, Sandaime-ojii."_

_"Ah, Naruto, good to see you," he greeted and tipped his head slightly at the fox riding on the blond's shoulder. "What can I do for you?"_

_"You know that scroll I…ah, borrowed that time?" Naruto scratched his head and grinned. The Hokage gave him a short but shrewd look._

_"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I cannot give that scroll to you. I know your father wrote it," he continued before Naruto could voice his dissatisfaction, "but he never wanted you to view certain contents of it." The teen unconsciously placed a hand over his navel. "Besides, almost all of the things in there are well above your level; I'm still surprised you managed to learn Kage Bunshin."_

_"I wanted to at least find out what that jutsu Kakashi-sensei was talking about," he replied sulkily._

_"Which one?"_

_"I don't even know what it's called," Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei just said it was on par with his original lightning jutsu."_

_"Ah," the Hokage murmured in recognition, "he must mean the Rasengan."_

_"Rasengan?" Naruto perked up._

_"Yes, a powerful technique indeed, and also above your current capabilities," he smiled wryly. "The amount of chakra and control needed is astounding. You certainly may have the capacity needed, but nowhere near the level of control." Naruto deflated, causing the old man to chuckle. "Train your chakra control well and demonstrate your prowess to me at the Chuunin Exams next year. Then, I'll tell you more about the Rasengan."_

_"You know how to do it?" Naruto asked eagerly._

_"I understand the theory behind it, but only your father and his sensei, Jiraiya, could actually use it successfully. Work hard and you may be able to one day."_

_"You got it, old man."_

* * *

A finished training session and a disappeared Kakashi later, Team Seven sat around the grounds unwinding.

"So, you guys got anything planned for celebrating the New Year?" Sakura asked.

"Not really," Naruto shrugged. Turning to Satomi, he asked, "You wanna do anything?"

"I don't see the significance," she responded bluntly.

"It's your first New Year's celebration and that's significant enough for me," he said firmly. "Got anything in mind, Sakura, Sasuke?"

"I have matters to attend to," Sasuke said suddenly, preventing them from speaking further. "_Family_ matters," he stressed and stood up when Naruto opened his mouth again.

Of course, that still didn't stop him.

"Family matters, huh?" Naruto stood as well. "Do you want us to—"

"_Alone_."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Is this thing just for show?" he demanded, turning around and jerking his thumb towards the insignia on the back of his collar.

"No, it isn't," was the terse answer. Sasuke turned his back on them. "Don't push it, Naruto; you don't understand."

"What's there to not understand?!"

Sasuke didn't reply and moved to leave.

Naruto grit his teeth.

_'So that's how you wanna play, teme?'_

He took a breath and aimed low for a reaction. "Itachi was like an older brother to me too—" He nearly flinched as Sasuke whipped around viciously, swinging his fist and stopping it a hair's breadth away from his whiskers-marked cheek.

The Uchiha stared at him, his eyes swimming with conflicting emotions.

"I know," he finally whispered. "But he isn't your responsibility." He lowered his fist slowly. "None of this is." Without another word, he walked away from Training Ground Seven.

"Freakin' stubborn _bastard_," Naruto growled. "Like I'm going to let him selfishly angst on his own." He glanced at Sakura. "You game?"

* * *

_**New Year's Eve**_

Really, why had he bothered? A large part of him already knew that Naruto wouldn't listen to him, so why did he waste his time and breath? It was infuriating, but he still…appreciated it a little. Maybe.

_'Typical dobe.'_

Of course, it hadn't stopped him from decking the blond and sending him several feet across the ground of his clan's complex.

"Prick," Naruto seethed and rubbed his cheek. "At least I'm awake now," he added dryly as an afterthought.

"Hmph." Sasuke closed his eyes and turned his head dismissively. "That's what you get for not leaving me alo—"

A crisp sound rang through the air and a sharp, lancing pain blossomed in Sasuke's cheek. Now, both boys were holding a hand to their faces and they stared at Sakura in shock. Satomi also had surprise registered on her face, and even Sakura herself looked stunned at her hand as though she didn't believe she had just slapped her crush across the face.

"I…um…I didn't…" she stuttered. _'I'm dreaming, right? I'm still dreaming. No, I'm just half-asleep and my brain's not totally functioning yet, causing me to slap Sasuke-kun out of anger. Oh boy…'_

Desperately, she remembered why she had done that, swallowed hard, and steeled her nerves. "You…you're annoying, Sasuke-kun!"

A very intelligent "Eh?" escaped his lips.

She took a deep breath. "The way you shoulder everything onto yourself is annoying! We get that your family is your responsibility, but that doesn't mean you have to carry the burden alone forever! Like Naruto said, _we're_ your family too! Do we mean so little to your life? Are all of our shared experiences for nothing? What about all the times we've shared, being happy together, or sad together, in danger together, fighting together, training together, _living_ together, and all the times we're _going_ to share? We're as much a part of your life as you are to ours, so deal with it, shannaro! If you want us to leave so badly, you're gonna have to kick us out by force!" she finished, half-panting in the cold dawn air.

"I thought we went over this in the Wave…" she mumbled more to herself.

Unfortunately, anger was still Sasuke's first natural response. "Who do you two think you are, imposing yourselves into _my_ decisions about _my_ family—"

"Seriously, Sasuke, shut the fuck up." Naruto pulled himself up and dusted his clothes, "Who do you think _you _are, deciding to make yourself feel more important and superior by piling on all this shit on your own? Doesn't life suck enough without making things worse for yourself? And you say _I_ make no sense." He gave his obsidian-haired rival a piercing blue stare. "You can't stop being important to us no matter how hard you try, even if you won't see us the same way."

"That's not it," Sasuke growled out quickly. "You guys _are_ important to me too, but I just didn't…" He trailed off and looked to the side, gritting his teeth.

_'I didn't want to be seen like this,'_ he thought bitterly as the sights of his former home flooded his vision and mind for the first time since the massacre.

Satomi narrowed her eyes, relating the look Sasuke had on his face to one Naruto would have during times like when Iruka had died in front of him or when they were about to reveal their circumstances together back in Nami no Kuni.

It was a look of vulnerability.

"What matters more, Uchiha?" she challenged. "Your pride or your happiness?" Naruto and Sakura glanced at her in surprise and perplexity while Sasuke tightened his jaw and closed his eyes. A long silence passed until he finally stood, but he didn't face them.

_"What do you want, Uchiha Sasuke?"_

He grit his teeth at the recollection and remained silent for several long moments.

"If I'm annoying, then you guys are just insufferable," he stated coolly. As his teammates prepared another verbal battle, he continued, "But if you're not going to leave, you better make yourselves useful." He turned and smirked at their looks of uncertainty. "There's a lot of work to do. Together."

Naruto and Sakura began smiling, but then Naruto stopped.

"Work? What work?"

"Well, I haven't been back here in years," Sasuke said, albeit a little tightly. "There's a lot to clean up, and honestly, I wasn't exactly thrilled about doing it all on my own."

"…That whole thing better not have been some elaborate plot to get us to be your cleaning crew," Naruto sighed.

"If it was, it was rather well done, don't you think?" Sasuke calmly replied. "Besides, I'd be more concerned with how you know a word like 'elaborate.'"

"It's way too early for you to be such an asshole."

"What can I say? It's one of my many talents, unlike you."

"Want a ribbon? You can tie it to that stick shoved up your ass."

Sakura giggled softly at their usual antics. They'd be alright after all.

"Don't even think about including me in this domestic crap," Satomi scoffed, harboring a tone that brooked no argument. No one dared.

* * *

After almost six grueling hours of work and enough sanitizing supplies to fill a house, the Uchiha Complex was now somewhat inhabitable. Many of the residences were still in disarray; windows and doors had to be replaced, roofs had to be retiled, and furniture had to be replaced, but the entire compound no longer seemed like a slum. There were many trying moments while they worked, from constant sneezing due to thick layers of dust to morbid silences as they scrubbed bloodstains off surfaces and even to seething anger when they found graffiti, no doubt made by punks on a dare or some other such nonsense.

Sasuke had done his best to tolerate his friends' presences, which he actually did quite well. The whole experience had been somber and painful, but it was not just a physical cleansing for him. The only real hitch that had occurred was when he had insisted on cleaning his own house alone, to which Naruto and Sakura had not argued with or pressed him on. It took him a few hours and when he stepped out, his eyes were misty and his heart felt heavy, but paradoxically lighter at the same time. Sakura had moved over and given him a quick hug that he had neither responded to nor rejected, and Naruto had clapped a hand on his shoulder without meeting his eyes.

Now, they stood silently in respect in the very center of the compound where an obsidian obelisk, created by the skills of the Sandaime himself, stood as a five-foot memorial stone and housed the ashes of all those who died in the massacre.

A bouquet, composed of white pansies, christmas roses and hyacinths, and made by Sakura, rested at the stone's base. The three of them reverently closed their eyes and prayed, while Satomi stood a small distance behind them and observed quietly. After bowing three times each, they continued to stand there, collecting their thoughts. Sakura placed her hand on Sasuke's left shoulder comfortingly.

"…If you start crying, teme, I'm getting the hell outta here," Naruto said bluntly from his right.

"Naruto!" Sakura half-yelled in a scandalized tone, but Sasuke just made a sound between a cough and a laugh.

Naruto clapped him on the back. "C'mon, Sasuke. We got a New Year to celebrate. Together."

"…Aa."

* * *

"Why couldn't ramen be the tradition?" Naruto grumbled as he slurped the rest of his toshikoshi soba.

"Celebrating means not whining about how much of a ramen junkie you are," Sakura reprimanded.

"I'll sneak in a bowl for you, Naruto," Teuchi winked.

"You're the best, ossan."

"They're spoiling you, dobe."

Naruto flicked a piece of negi at Sasuke in response. However, it was futile as Sasuke merely caught it with his chopsticks before it could hit his face, causing Teuchi and Ayame to clap in amazement.

"Damn showoff," Naruto muttered.

"Gochisousama," Satomi murmured as she set down her chopsticks, having been constantly insisted by Naruto to join the celebration.

"Would you like seconds, Satomi-san?" Ayame asked the woman who had been introduced as a personal friend of the Hokage.

"No, that will be fine," she dipped her head slightly.

"So, Satomi, what'd you do before getting saddled with these kids?" Teuchi spoke in curiosity. "I haven't seen you around before." She had to give the man credit; it was hard to notice the undertone of suspicion.

"I traveled extensively and gathered information," she replied fluidly. "I was assigned to Kakashi's team because most of it concerns him and his students." She paused. "Speak of the devil. Stop acting like a stalker, ichime."

Everyone else began looking around.

"Yo," the jounin said merrily as he suddenly popped up from behind the counter, scaring the hell out of almost all of them, especially Teuchi and Ayame.

"How the hell?! Where'd you come from?!" Naruto yelled, having almost spilled his bowl.

"Well, you see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much—whoops!" He took cover as chopsticks flew and lodged themselves in the wall behind him. He whistled. "Oi oi, that was lethal."

"See how much we trust in your skills, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura smiled.

Kakashi's neck hairs stood up at her deceptively saccharine tone.

"So, Kakashi-san," Teuchi cleared his throat, "what does Satomi mean by being assigned to your team because she traveled a lot?"

"I've been thinking about taking these kids out on a training trip, so I asked Hokage-sama to refer a guide to me of sorts."

"A training trip?" Ayame asked. "For how long?"

"Well, it's still in the development phase," Kakashi laughed. "We'll see after these kids develop their skills a little more. Besides, it gives us all time to get acquainted with Satomi and vice versa."

"You guys seem to get along pretty well already," Teuchi pointed out, his suspicion becoming more obvious.

Satomi met his gaze steadily, revealing nothing, and though she was getting annoyed at his insightfulness, she admired the old ramen chef's protectiveness of Naruto.

"We've met before in the past," Kakashi shrugged. "And what can I say? She and my students hit it off almost immediately."

Teuchi made a thoughtful noise while giving the woman a shrewd look, which she returned with a neutral one. However, he shrugged to himself and let it go, setting down a large bowl of ramen in front of Naruto and said, "You all better be careful out there. Bring back some souvenirs for us while you're at it."

"Otou-san!" Ayame admonished her father's rudeness, but Naruto just laughed it off.

"Of course, ossan, I'll get you guys something good."

"No, Naruto-kun, you don't have to…"

But the blond was happily slurping his noodles as though he hadn't heard a thing.

Giving a defeated sigh, Ayame decided to change the topic. "So what're you guys going to do for the rest of the day?"

"We hadn't really decided," Sakura admitted sheepishly. "The plan was to walk around the shopping and entertainment district and find something to do."

"Oh, I see," the young woman giggled in response. "Well, whatever you guys decide on, have fun and have a Happy New Year."

"You're going to celebrate without me?" Kakashi moaned piteously. They sighed in unison.

"Of course you can come along, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said patronizingly, but smiled as she did so.

* * *

"Scoot over a bit, Naruto."

"Ack! Anymore and I'll fall over!"

"Oh? Keep moving then, Sakura."

"Go to hell, teme."

"Six seconds left; stop bickering," Satomi sighed.

"Everyone, say 'kunai!'"

Snap.

"…Kakashi-sensei, you're lame," Sakura muttered as she got out of the booth to inspect the results.

"How'd it turn out?" Naruto asked eagerly. She smiled brightly at the sheet of photos and handed it to Naruto. He gave a short but joyful laugh, then turned a little dejected. "Aww."

"What, did we manage to cut you out?" Sasuke smirked.

"No, fuck you, teme," Naruto scowled. Turning to Satomi, he pouted. "You're barely smiling!"

She just gave him an indifferent glance and an elegant shrug.

"Hey, you guys wanna try out that one?" Sakura asked, pointing to a more extravagant-looking purikura booth. "I think you can decorate it with almost anything you want after it snaps the picture." She could've sworn that a glint suddenly appeared in Naruto and Sasuke's eyes.

"I'm gonna sit this one out," Kakashi chuckled. "I'm not going to risk my handsome face being drawn on."

"We barely see your face as it is and I highly doubt it's anywhere near handsome," Sasuke muttered.

"Besides, we wouldn't do such a thing, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto added innocently. Of course, the foxy smile on his face screamed otherwise.

"I'm going to sit out as well," Satomi said. "I've already indulged you once."

Naruto pouted.

"Fine, fine," he groused. "Here, hold these for us then." He handed her the photos and rushed to the other purikura with Sakura, who was half-dragging Sasuke.

Satomi looked down at the laminated sheet of frozen memories that displayed the three genin crouched in front of Satomi, who stood behind Naruto on the left side, and Kakashi, who was behind Sasuke on the right.

An unbidden upward twitch of her lips graced her face.

Kakashi pretended not to notice.

* * *

Sakura was still fuming as they searched the entertainment district for their next activity. The teens ended up having to do their snapshots a second time since Naruto and Sasuke got a little too enthusiastic with "decorating" the first set. In fact, they had almost ruined the machine when attempting to wrestle the decorating stylus from each other's hand.

Sakura prayed that the crack on the screen was just a figment of her imagination.

There were no troubles at first with her taking the reins and making modest and tasteful designs around their figures.

No, the problems began when Naruto refused to restrain himself and his artistic tendencies and proceeded to make Sasuke look like a fantastically over-the-top drag queen, complete with pink and yellow ribbons, purple eyeshadow, and an unhealthy amount of glitter.

Sasuke, of course, simply didn't stand for that and shoved the gleeful blond out of the way so that he could "show how the dobe looked to the world." As a result, Naruto's portrait was blessed with a huge rainbow afro, comically fat lips and floppy ears, a red bulbous nose, and enough face paint to choke a whale.

The last column of photos ended up being completely unusable; the boys had riddled each other's pictures with so many lines, drawings, and designs that poor Sakura's visage was surrounded by two giant unrecognizable masses of _color_.

She had promptly yelled for them to get their sorry asses back in the booth and forbid them from touching the decorating pen again.

Inwardly though, the pink-haired teen was quite happy with the experience and the photos, even if Sasuke looked noticeably awkward in all of them, especially the ones where they did poses like putting up their hands in V-signs or adjusting their hitai-ate to emulate Kakashi.

They continued to observe their surroundings and window shop here and there until a large crowd and loud music grasped their attention. Naruto made a beeline for the spectacle like a moth to a flame.

"Ah, open-air karaoke?" Sakura murmured. "Looks like a casual exhibition too." They watched as the current singer, a young woman, finished. "Wow. Pretty good," she commented.

"You wanna give it a shot?" Sasuke asked in a neutral tone as he recalled the lullaby she sang during their first babysitting mission.

"Nah," she blushed, "I couldn't do it in front of all these people." Was that a flicker of disappointment that passed through his onyx eyes? She shook her head. "C'mon, let's go check out…" She trailed off and looked around in confusion. "Where's Naruto?"

With a sinking feeling in their stomachs, they turned to Satomi, who had a slightly exasperated visage. Without saying a word, she merely lifted her arm and pointed towards the stage.

"Ah, hello hello? Check, one two, check…just kidding. Yo, how ya doing, Konohaaaaa?!"

"Oh, gods, _no_."

"Freakin'…dobe…_no_."

"Oh boy," Kakashi snickered.

"Ah, let's see, what do we have here…" Naruto muttered onstage as he rifled through song titles on the machine.

"He knows some songs?" Sakura asked disbelievingly.

"I'm more concerned with the well-being of our ears," Sasuke grimaced.

"Ever since you taught him the flute, he's been finding time here and there to become more acquainted with music," Satomi explained, managing to sound bored.

"I feel sorry for you," Sasuke muttered.

"He isn't that bad, actually," Satomi smiled wryly. "At least he doesn't do something like warble in the shower at the top of his lungs."

"Funny, I expected him to do just that," Sakura sighed. Everyone else nodded solemnly.

"Now that you mention it," Satomi added while wrinkling her forehead a little, "I think this is the first time he's actually attempted to _sing_."

"That boy just loves to hit the ground running," Kakashi chuckled. They were hesitant to share his cheery disposition.

"Ah, this one's perfect!" the blond suddenly exclaimed. "Oh, hang on. I'm gonna need some backup singers." A cross seal and two poofs later, there were three Narutos onstage as the music began.

"Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!" the main one shouted. "One, two, three, four!" A few more seconds of instrumentals. "Here's a little song about what the world needs more of!"

He took a deep breath and began to sing.

When the chorus kicked up, the clones joined in as peoples' heads began bobbing to the spirited beat and words of new days and that thing that the world calls love.

As the chorus finished, the real Naruto sang solo again for a time.

His team had to admit, Naruto really wasn't bad at all; his voice wasn't great, but his timing was perfect and the way he captured the essence of the song was fantastic.

The instrumentals kicked in again and one of Naruto's clones began playing an air guitar while the other pretended he was on the drums. People found themselves clapping along to the song and smiling infectiously at the words and how Naruto conveyed them with such accuracy, and Sasuke and Sakura were grinning as well.

"Let it all soak in right now!" the real Naruto shouted. "Forget all your sadness and your pains! Remember that this is the only thing in the world that should matter!" He and his clones took a breath.

"_Ai to heiwa!_" They pumped their fists into the air. "_Ai to heiwa!_" The audience joined in. "_Ai to heiwa!_" Even Satomi cracked a smile.

"Be happy with your lives!" Naruto yelled passionately. "Look forward to tomorrow! Don't forget this great truth of the world and say it with me!"

"_Sekai ja sore wo…ai to yobun da zeee!_" they all cried as one.

"_Love and peace!_ _Love and peace!"_ Naruto shouted. "_Love and peace! Love and peace!_" The crowd followed along. "_Love and peace!_ _Love and peeeeeace!_"

Finishing with a flourish, Naruto and his Kage Bunshin took a deep bow as the audience cheered loudly, although Satomi and Sasuke held back to just clapping in a reserved manner. The smiles on their faces, however, showed no signs of disappearing.

* * *

"A couple of months ago, that would've completely grossed me out," Sakura commented dryly as she watched Satomi eat the thin slices of beef raw.

"Would you like to try?" she smirked in reply.

"Hell no, thank you," Sakura muttered quickly and shoved some shungiku and shirataki in her mouth.

"The point of sukiyaki is to cook the meat though," Kakashi sighed.

Satomi just stared at him, methodically picked up another red piece of meat, placed it in her mouth, and began chewing slowly, clearly saying that she didn't give a rat's ass.

"It really isn't that bad," Naruto piped up, occasionally eating the beef raw. "I've got half a mind to say it tastes better this way."

The other occupants of the table, minus Satomi, grimaced.

"That's because she's corrupted you, dobe," Sasuke sniffed in disdain.

As if to prove it, they both stuck their tongues out at him.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei, why aren't you eating?" Naruto grumbled loudly.

The others mentally agreed, eager to see what that infernal mask was hiding.

"I already did," he eye-smiled. "Didn't you guys see me do so? Maybe you weren't paying attention." The genin all glowered at him. "Well, I didn't eat too much," he admitted. "I'm on a diet, after all."

"Bullshit," the three chorused. Kakashi just laughed heartily and their scowls didn't last long.

Afterwards, at Kakashi's suggestion, they picked up their camping supplies and went up to the Hokage Monument. Kakashi also brought along a good jug of otoso and they ended up sipping the medicinal sake, at times talking about everything and nothing, from the Chuunin Exams to their experiences shared thus far, and other times, just enjoying the comfortable silence until the fireworks that signaled the beginning of the New Year lit up the clear night sky. After a short, peaceful sleep, Team Seven woke up in the morning just in time to see the sun rise.

* * *

"This mission can be considered a high D-rank," the Hokage said. "In the South District, there is a restaurant that opened a month or two ago called Rakuen. We've received an anonymous request from someone, perhaps an employee, who claims there's been sexual harassment in the establishment."

"From the manager?" Sasuke asked as all their faces darkened.

"Probably; the missive wasn't very detailed. Your job is to determine whether or not this claim is valid and take appropriate measures based on your findings."

"Beat the shit out of him?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"I will leave that to the discretion of you and your team," the old man smiled wryly.

"Beat the shit out of him," the blond nodded firmly.

Sakura just sighed and patted his shoulder patronizingly. "If anyone's beating the shit out of a guy like that, it'll be me."

Kakashi shook his head, chuckling softly. "We accept the mission, Hokage-sama. C'mon, kids. Let's go figure out a plan."

Ten minutes later, they were in front of their training ground's logs.

"Sasuke, you have particular experience with policing, thanks to your clan," Kakashi noted. "How do you think we should go about this?"

He thought for a moment and said, "Firstly, we have to determine if our anonymous source is telling the truth or not. The lack of details and finger-pointing is a little odd, but it may be just because of some unconscious fear of the perpetrator. We need to do surveillance of some sort."

"But if it's true, what about the privacy of the victim?" Sakura pointed out. "We don't know how far the harassment is going; I don't want them to be exposed any further. Besides, there's something wrong with using our skills on our own villagers, even if it's for a greater good, which we don't even have confirmation of right now."

"I don't like the other option," Sasuke replied tersely.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

He frowned and said, "Infiltration of the area, confirmation of the situation, and presentation of an opportunity to commit the crime."

"Huh?"

"We send in bait," Sakura paraphrased while grimacing.

"Aw, hell no," Naruto scowled, glancing at her. "Sasuke's right; I don't like it either, Sakura."

"I could get the employees to open up to me, and if anything were to happen, I can take care of myself."

"No," Sasuke said sharply. "This is a shinobi village; we don't know what techniques or tools they have access to. There could even be more than one. We should stick to covert observation."

"You just said it yourself: this is a shinobi village. We'd be detected by other ninja, and it just takes one paranoid nin to completely ruin our cover."

"I'm not sending you in to potentially be harassed, Sakura."

"We face risks every day, Sasuke-kun. I can handle it."

"Guys, guys!" Naruto waved his arms in front of them. "Relax! I've got an idea."

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto shot him a dirty look at his tone, but formed a seal. **"Henge no Jutsu!"** When the smoke cleared, there was a female version of the loudmouthed teen.

"Infiltration, confirmation, presentation." the now-female teen said simply. "I'm not letting Sakura get felt up by some asshole and Satomi's out of the question. Do you think she'd really invite the chance for someone to do stuff to her, never mind letting them live?"

"They'd want to die anyway, after I liquefy their genitals," the now-humanoid redhead stated serenely. The males turned a little green and even Sakura winced.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin with the mission report," Kakashi muttered.

"Yeeeaaah. So, next best thing," the blonde concluded.

They shared a contemplative silence.

"…Do I even want to know why you'd willfully let yourself be felt up by another guy?" Sasuke couldn't resist jabbing.

They were a little surprised when she just grinned mischievously.

"Can you imagine the prick's face when he realizes he's been all touchy-feely with another guy?"

Sasuke covered his face with his hand, partially to hide the unbidden smile forming on his lips, and Sakura was unable to hold back a snort of laughter.

"Only you, Naruto," she said, shaking her head. "Or Naruko for now, I suppose," she laughed.

"You'll never outgrow these pranks, will you?" Kakashi said fondly.

"Hey, kitsune are supposed to be chronic tricksters, right? I'm just going with the flow."

"Hah," Satomi couldn't help but bark out a short laugh. "That's damn straight." Was that pride in her voice?

"I can just imagine his face when his groping disrupts your Henge," Sakura giggled.

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you know," she faltered a little, confused as well. "If there's some sort of physical contact or impact that interferes with the transformation, it'll drop."

"That can happen? Huh."

"Didn't you pay attention when we first learned it in the Academy?"

"Nope," came the easy reply. "As soon as I heard it was a transformation technique, I started thinking about all the pranks I could pull."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Come to think of it, there was that time against Zabuza…"

Sakura looked like she had an epiphany. "That's right…to take such a small form and be so successful in that situation…"

"Eh? Eh?" Naruko glanced back and forth between the two. "What what what?"

Sasuke just concentrated on the blonde and his onyx eyes shifted into the crimson orbs of the Sharingan. A look of utter bewilderment slowly took over his visage as he studied the figure of his teammate carefully.

Naruko fought the urge to cover herself. "Should I be creeped out or offended about now?"

"I don't believe it…" Sasuke murmured. "I don't see it at all."

"See what?"

"So you mean he's…she's…" Sakura gaped.

"What?!"

"I'll be damned," Kakashi whistled. He had uncovered his own Sharingan. "I take it that's your influence?" he addressed Satomi.

"Trickery is not our only talent," she replied smugly.

"Goddammit, what?!" Naruko shouted.

"Sakura?" Kakashi prompted their resident well of information.

"Ah, h-hai." She cleared her throat. "Okay, Henge works like this: you're supposed to summon chakra to coat yourself with a shell of sorts, which takes the appearance of whatever you intended it to take. This is why it's especially difficult to transform into anything that isn't your size, like what you did with the fuuma shuriken in Nami no Kuni."

"Okay…" the blonde nodded slowly.

"What's more," Sasuke took over, "the Sharingan is supposed to be able to see this shell. That's how we can easily tell whether or not someone's under a Henge or not."

"And…you guys don't see it?" she asked her teammate and sensei, who shook their heads.

"The only thing I see is a shadowy tail," Sasuke continued. "It's pale and wispy, but it's there if I focus enough."

"So…what does that mean?" Naruko asked carefully.

"Naruto…err…" Sakura paused and thought for a second. "No, it's definitely Naruko now," she said firmly.

"…Eh?"

"Naru…ko. You didn't Henge in the traditional sense," she explained slowly. "You've transformed in _every sense of the word_. If I were to analyze your DNA right now…in fact, let's stop by the hospital and get a sample of your blood."

Evidently, studying iryoujutsu had also served to increase her intellectual curiosity even more.

"Do I have to?" Naruko practically whined, thinking of needles.

"You. Big. Wuss," Satomi enunciated deliberately.

"You be quiet, you former furball," the shapeshifted genin snapped.

Satomi narrowed her eyes, but the object of her ire ignored her and turned back to Sakura.

"Why do you wanna analyze my blood?"

"I want to confirm if you really have two X chromosomes right now. The idea is just mind-blowing. Awkward and disturbing, but mind-blowing," Sakura admitted, a bit of a fervent glint in her eyes.

"Sakura-chan," Naruko said slowly, "I think you've gotten more twisted being around us. I'm a little surprised you guys aren't more weirded out right now. I know I am."

"We're ninja," was Sasuke's deadpan reply. "Impossibilities are part of our job description. We just happen to have a team member who's about as subtle as an elephant and can shapeshift into a girl."

"But I'm a guy, dammit!"

"Well, mentally, you retain your true identity," Satomi spoke up. "After all, it would have been disastrous if you took on _every_ quality of that fuuma back in the Wave." In a lighter voice, she continued, "But right now, physically…"

In the blink of an eye, Naruko realized too late that there was an undercurrent of malevolence in the woman's tone as Satomi suddenly was behind her. The former Kyuubi no Youko shot her arms forward, encircled her prey with her limbs, and gave her hapless victim a rough squeeze.

"A-ahnn!"

"…you're Naruko and all it entitles," the vixen finished in her ear, leaping away before the blonde could retaliate with a swinging fist.

The teens were all flushing deeply and even a part of Kakashi's mind was wishing he didn't read so much porn as they all stared at what just happened in total disbelief.

"Y-you…what the…fucking f-fox…woman…perv…" Naruko seethed brokenly, her face blazing and an arm over her breasts.

"I'm just providing a valuable example of what could happen to you," Satomi stated dispassionately while examining her claws. "Out of concern for you and the mission, of course."

"Concern, my ass!" the pseudo-girl nearly screamed.

"That is equally inviting." It was so satisfying turning her former vessel into a mortified, sputtering mess, even if it was partly Naruto's own influence for mischief.

"L-let's just go to the goddamn hospital so Sakura can get her goddamn sample and then we get this goddamn mission underway, goddammit!" Naruko yelled, storming off to hide her embarrassment.

Satomi just followed, chuckling mirthfully to herself.

The rest of Team Seven just stared after them in silence.

"…I have a new rule," Kakashi stated solemnly. "Awkward moments like these will never be spoken of again unless under extreme duress, copious amounts of alcohol, matters of life and death, or some combination of the above."

"Agreed."

"Hear hear, shannaro."

* * *

_**Mid-February**_

"You alright, dobe?"

"Fine," Naruto panted. His reply betrayed the fact that his hands were twitching, his eyes were hooded, dilated, and a dark blue color, and he kept shifting his gaze. "Just been like this ever since I woke up," he continued evasively.

"You don't look fine," Sakura admonished worriedly, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his forehead. "Are you sick? It feels like you have a fever."

"That's impossible," he replied heavily. "I've never been sick in my life."

"First time for everything," Sasuke shrugged, feigning indifference.

"Not in this case," Satomi said from beside a tree. Oddly enough, she had been keeping a fair distance even since she and Naruto had arrived on the grounds. "Naruto's right; it's impossible for him to become ill."

"You know what's wrong with him," came from Kakashi; it wasn't a question.

"There's nothing _wrong_ with me," Naruto cut in. "I just can't focus."

"Why not?" Sakura pressed.

Naruto said nothing and continued to breathe heavily, shifting his eyes towards Satomi every now and then. He began flushing slightly.

"What happened between you two?" Sasuke inquired, following Naruto's gazes and giving a particularly suspicious look at Satomi.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the vixen scoffed.

"She didn't _do_ anything," Naruto growled. "She's just got some sort of _scent_ coming off her," he blurted out before stopping himself.

"Scent?" Sakura looked between them confusedly. "Her smell has you distracted?"

"I feel insulted," Satomi sniffed haughtily.

"What kind of scent would make you like this?" Sasuke asked in a slightly bewildered tone.

Again, Naruto kept silent.

_'Yeah, explaining it would go over nicely. I don't even know how to start. "Well, gee, I dunno, kinda like warm, musky, slightly soapy flowers that once you breathe in, you want more and more because it seems to flood and heat up your entire body. And did I happen to mention that it makes me wanna just fu—"'_

"Welcome to mating season, kids," Satomi interrupted his thoughts with a sour tone.

"Ma-mating…season…?" Sakura repeated, dumbfounded. "…Hah?"

Beside her, Naruto groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Yes. Aren't you humans lucky, not having a particularly strong sense of smell or being more in tune with much baser instincts," she ranted irritably.

"Naruto…wants to…_mate _with you?" Sakura was obviously in a slight daze.

"I'm not _mating_ with _anyone_," Naruto hissed in mortified protest. _'Definitely not like this.'_

"Tempting as it may be," Satomi drawled, "if we were to do so anytime during these few days…well, let's ask Naruto how he'd feel about being a father."

Naruto's head shot up and he twitched violently. "F-father? We'd have kids?!"

"Sex _does_ make babies," Satomi quipped dryly, rolling her eyes. "It'd just be almost guaranteed now, since I'm in estrus for up to six more days."

Everyone suddenly shared a vision of a small, red-orange-haired, blue-eyed, whiskered child bouncing happily on Satomi's lap with a paternally prideful Naruto standing behind her, cooing. The two in question shared similar thoughts.

_'Hell…fucking…no.'_

_'Most…definitely…not.'_

There was a sudden, quiet noise, causing most of them to freeze. It occurred again and it sounded like something between a choked cough and a sneeze. They all turned to Sasuke in confusion, and when he began chuckling, it turned into surprise. That surprise only grew at an exponential rate when the chuckles turned into full-blown laughter.

"T-teme…you find this funny?"

Sasuke looked at him briefly, showing true mirth swimming in his onyx eyes, before a fresh wave of amusement broke through his lips. Between the mental images of vulpine nuptial bliss, Naruto's obvious embarrassment, Satomi's not-so-obvious embarrassment, and the overall sheer absurdity of the situation, it was all very surreal and too damned funny to him.

"Man, you have a _twisted_ sense of humor," Naruto murmured in bewilderment.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to be contagious, as Sakura began giggling quietly, despite her blush, and Kakashi covered his masked face with a hand. Naruto growled, formed the cross seal, and summoned an explosive amount of chakra. Three more Narutos appeared, each pumped with chakra to stand up against more than few solid hits.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but I don't think I'm going to be training much for the next week."

The jounin sighed and nodded, understanding what Naruto was planning to do. _'Vent all you need, Naruto. Better that than…well…I'm not even gonna go there.'_

And so, Naruto commenced the purging of his relatively newfound sexual frustrations by beating the holy hell out of himself.

Sasuke's lips twitched again. "All this just because they're horny for each other."

* * *

_'Damn you, Naruto, you idiot.'_

It would be a lie to say that Satomi herself wasn't affected by certain biorhythms, but she'd be damned twice over if she didn't try her hardest to mask it. What Naruto was doing, however, was not helping.

Various battle yells rang throughout the air as the blonds punched each other, clawed each other, pulled each other's hair, bit, tore, kicked, and just generally opened a family-sized Can o' Whupass on each other. It was similar to watching dogs in the wild fight each other for the right to mate with a vixen, regardless of the fact that it was really just Naruto and his Kage Bunshin.

_'And that it's appealing more to my instincts than I'd like,'_ she thought with no small amount of displeasure.

It hadn't been nearly such a big deal in the past when she wandered as a monstrous demon fox; whenever urges hit, she'd merely use her arguably blessed ability with transformation, shift into a human form, and hunt down a suitable male, or female sometimes. Of course, they never came willingly; fear of death always overruled a moment's pleasure. After hypnotizing them or making them submit with her boundless and terrible power and will, she would satiate her lust and kill the hapless victims afterwards. Plus, there was the added bonus that she never gave a thought about potential pregnancy; it was laughable to think human sperm could survive in a demon's body when the human couldn't even survive the sex.

_'Not exactly bright spots in my life,'_ she mused. _'Naruto wouldn't approve either.'_

But really, why should she care what he thought of her? She had gone her whole life without giving half a damn to anything not worthy of even a sliver of her attention, Shinigami-induced demonic rage notwithstanding. She cared now, though, thanks to inheriting some of Naruto's particularly strong drive for acceptance.

She hated that about him.

_'Well, maybe not "hate,"' _she thought wryly. After all, she knew what hatred was and what it felt like: an all-encompassing obsessive desire to deny and eliminate the existence of something. No, she didn't hate anything about Naruto; she just strongly disliked several things about him.

For example, it was downright hypocritical of him to look down on the concept of sacrifice and still be willing to give up potentially greater happiness for the sakes of those who didn't appreciate who he was and who he could be.

_'Undoubtedly the noble streak passed down from his father.'_

Granted, that annoying noble streak had its perks, such as with their current situation. She knew Naruto would adamantly refuse the call of her body, even without the uneasy fact that they would most likely end up with a litter. Oh, he wasn't a romantic in the greatest sense of the word; he and all the other students had been disillusioned and taught that sex could be a powerful tool in the world of ninja.

Still, since he grew up with almost no human contact, Naruto viewed it as the most special of physical acts between two people. Thus, there had to be a worthy basis for sex to occur.

_'Like love,'_ she considered.

She had to admit, love was, by far, the most complex human emotion she had observed in her lifetime. The best way she could describe it was that love was on the side coin as hatred. They were so similar, yet they were polar opposites; both were forms of obsession, both were potentially destructive, and both could bring untold pleasures. She had seen love manifest in many different ways.

She had watched a young couple beg for mercy for each other's sakes, to be killed in the other's stead.

She had enjoyed it when a woman killed her four infant children, justifying her actions by saying she was sparing them from the pains in life.

She had seen a frail, elderly woman lift a fallen, burning tree in order to save her toddler of a grandson.

She had her curiosity perked when a man slit his wrists without hesitation to follow his diseased wife in death.

Sometimes, Satomi wondered if love was more dangerous than hatred.

As she watched Naruto make a fresh batch of clones to melee with, she pondered whether she would ever come to love him. She cared for him, yes, but could she ever reach the point where his sake mattered more than hers without a second thought? Could _they_ reach the point where they were devoted enough towards each other to absolutely value one another over anything else?

A wry smile graced her lips. _'Probably not.'_

* * *

_**Late April**_

Spiders, in actuality, are rather respectable creatures. They can be described as limber, mysterious, and even elegant. They are necessary components of the ecosystem of the world and the silk they produce is a natural wonder.

"Shannaro, I—kyah! …Oh _shit_."

"Guh! Fuck…Sakura, hang on! Sasuke, she's—"

"I know, but I'm a little busy here!"

But when spiders were the size of a fully grown tiger, had the ferocity of one, used great, snapping pincer-like jaws that could easily decapitate a man, stared at you with eight, shining, unblinking red eyes as big as chicken eggs, and had a hairy, black prickly body with ornate dark purple patterns on its abdomen that just made one's sensory nerves shudder with disgust and anxiety, all bets were off.

"I thought you said this would be easy!" Naruto shouted at Satomi, leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk to attack from different angles with claws, kunai, fists, and feet.

"That was before I realized I'm not exactly the great Kyuubi no Kitsune anymore," she snapped, leaping up into the air and slashing at the webbing that held Sakura in midair by her arms and legs at odd angles. The pink-haired girl fell with a gasp, landed, leapt back, and prepared hand seals.

"**Katon: Hidan no Jutsu!**" She extended five fingers forward and fired at an advancing arachnid. Three managed to strike its eyes and it began shrieking and writhing in pain. That is, until Sakura ran up and gave it a fierce roundhouse kick, sending its head flying into a tree. "What does that mean?!" she yelled in Satomi's direction.

"It means instead of them scurrying away in fear, they only hesitated before apparently deciding there was strength in numbers," she scowled. She turned just in time to catch a sneaking onigumo by its pincers. Tilting her head slightly as though in curiosity, Satomi ripped them off effortlessly and slammed them back into the sides of the creature's head.

"How unfortunate for them to grow a pair," Sasuke said dryly, flipping over a charging onigumo and landing on its back. He drove a kunai into its head repeatedly, riding it as it hurtled senselessly through the moonlit foliage. Before it could crash into a large boulder, Sasuke executed a graceful backflip and drove his feet downwards solidly into another spider's head, squishing it.

He grimaced as his feet soaked in its innards.

"Freakin' showoff!" Naruto jeered. "And this ain't the time to be cracking half-assed jokes like that!"

Reaching into his weapons pouch, he threw two kunai into the air and cycled through some seals. He caught them with each hand as gravity took effect and slashed an X in the air, shouting, "**Fuuton: Hayate Juuji no Jutsu!**" The onigumo in front of him was blown back and separated into several pieces with a sickening squelching sound.

"Wow," he breathed triumphantly. "It finally worked."

"Naruto, watch your le—"

_Splat._ Too late.

"…Idiot. Pay attention," Satomi sighed.

With a face full of spider silk, Naruto was stumbling about like a drunken fool, yelling muffled curses. A number of onigumo leapt at the opportunity, but his constant flailing and tripping movements were so sporadic that they ended up either flying over him or crashing into each other.

"…I need a camera, dammit," Sasuke deadpanned in amazement. There was a clicking sound in response and everyone except Naruto looked up at its origin.

"Good thing I brought one just in case, ne?" Kakashi eye-smiled, standing on one of the taller trees and holding an extremely large, white, glistening bundle of silk bigger than himself.

"Kakashi-sensei, we thought you chickened out or something!" Sakura shouted at him. Indeed, after they entered Training Ground Forty-Four and started searching for their mission objective, Kakashi had disappeared quite suddenly right when they stumbled across an onigumo nest.

"Nope, had to finish the mission. You guys made great distractions; I only had to deal with the queen."

As if on cue, there was a roaring shriek in the distance that chilled their insides and made all their hairs stand on end.

"Speaking of which, we better get the hell outta here," he said cheerfully and leapt off quickly without them.

"Damn cyclopean bastard," Sasuke growled.

Naruto apparently agreed, since he was furiously waving two middle fingers in the air towards where he had heard Kakashi.

"He's already gone, ahou," Satomi scoffed, picking him up by the scruff of his jacket and leaping up after the jounin's direction. Sasuke and Sakura followed closely behind as the eerie, inhuman roars advanced ever closer.

* * *

"I need freakin' mouthwash, Goddammit," Naruto moaned, smacking his lips in distaste. "After a meal's worth of spider shit, a gallon or two would be nice."

"Spiders don't shit silk," Sasuke replied with a straight face.

"It came out of its ass, didn't it?!"

"In any case, I'm sure Tetsuzen-san will be happy to receive a fresh batch of onigumo silk and appreciate any adversities you've suffered," the Sandaime chuckled from behind his office desk. He had been surprised when the old shinobi-turned-merchant had privately and specifically asked for "the team with the fiery-lookin' jou-chan and the Uchiha brat."

"At least you were discreet enough to relay the request here instead of in the administrative building," Satomi nodded, hiding a small thanks for the old man's foresight.

"Of course," he nodded back. He hesitated slightly before saying, "Actually, I myself have a request for you and your team, Kakashi-kun."

"What can we do for you, Hokage-sama?" he replied immediately, despite the fact that they were all taken aback by the words. The old man relit his pipe and took a few puffs in preparation.

"On the books, this is a simple lower C-rank mission to make a delivery to a small town located in the southern part of Hi no Kuni." After a longer drag of tobacco, he continued, "My own addendum to locate someone after you are finished makes it an A-rank, potentially S." There was deathly silence. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke could summon up enough excitement to overpower the shock.

"Pa…pardon me, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi choked out. "Potentially_ S-rank_?"

"Who are we to locate?" Satomi demanded calmly, ever the face of neutrality.

"My former student, the Toad Sennin Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi repeated.

"Yes," the Hokage nodded. "As you may or may not know, Jiraiya has never contacted me in the fifteen years he has been away from this village. The only way I know he is still alive is because of…ah…certain works he has been publishing for almost a decade." He and Kakashi both coughed awkwardly. "The fact of the matter is, while he had always punctually released a new volume every New Year's, nothing came out this year."

"And from this, you think something may have happened to him?" Satomi clarified.

"Anything is possible in this world, but it is highly unlikely that Jiraiya is in any great danger. Though I am worried, I mainly wish for him to return home." He sighed and put down the pipe. "Something is stirring in the horizon and Konoha could use his help." They shared a short, but foreboding silence.

"Hokage-sama, what about Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi inquired. Sakura's eyes widened at the mention.

"Jiraiya will not only be easier to find, he will also listen to our requests." The old man sighed again. "Tsunade, on the other hand, will refuse to have anything to do with Konoha. We will need Jiraiya's help to find her and convince her to come home."

"Why wouldn't she?" They all turned to Sakura. "Isn't she the greatest medic-nin in the world? Why wouldn't she be here to help Konoha?" The Sandaime and Kakashi looked uncomfortably at each other.

"Because she has lost everything," the old Hokage explained softly. "She lost her brother, she lost her lover, she lost her confidence in her skills, and she lost her Will of Fire. We cannot judge her choices because of her hardships."

After a brief heavy silence, Kakashi spoke tentatively, "Hokage-sama, why assign this mission to us? I have absolute faith in my team, but with a capacity to become S-rank, aren't there better candidates?"

"What would make it become S-rank?" Sasuke spoke up.

"Well, Jiraiya himself is listed as an S-rank Flee-on-Sight shinobi in the Bingo Book and some of his enemies are the same. I was going to send another jounin or two along with you, but I don't think that will be necessary," he said, looking at Satomi.

"Flattering me, old man?" she smirked.

"Flattery implies insincerity," he smiled shrewdly, causing her to give a short, barking laugh.

"Charming. What other reasons are behind specifically asking us?" It was her turn to look shrewdly at him.

The grandfatherly leader's smile faded and he gave a resigned façade. "See the world, but stay out of sight."

There were a few confused looks.

"Indulge an old man's paranoia. There has been quite some movement lately, but I've been unable to discern its exact nature."

They all shared a thoughtful silence.

"So what's the overlying mission?" Kakashi asked.

"A simple delivery of goods to a town about two days south of here. Unkyuu lies in a relatively remote valley surrounded by small mountains, so they don't easily receive provisions. They sent an urgent request for us to speedily bring some medical supplies because of an outbreak of the flu. I understand young Sakura-san here," he smiled at her, "is interested in iryoujutsu. Perhaps she can help speed up their recovery."

"Thank you for your encouraging words, Hokage-sama," Sakura flushed, "but I'm afraid I'm not even considered a novice in the field just yet."

"Well, I'm sure it will be a good experience for you nonetheless," the Sandaime replied with conviction.

"And as for your own request, Hokage-sama," Kakashi spoke, "where should we look for Jiraiya-sama?"

"When you are finished with the mission, your next destination is Myobokuzan, further south past the Great Sea."

"That makes sense, but will the toads grant us passage, if they even show themselves?"

"I see no reason why they wouldn't accommodate the son of Namikaze Minato and his companions."

"Wait, wait, wait," Naruto interrupted. "Myobokuzan? Toads? And what's this about my dad?"

"Myobokuzan is home to the summon toads Jiraiya and your father formed a blood contract with," the Sandaime explained. "It's a sacred mountain only fully explored by those found worthy by the toad sages."

"Summon toads…ah, I remember those," Satomi mused. "A big, noisy one in particular managed to cut me quite a few times fifteen years ago. The one Naruto's father was riding."

No one knew quite what to say to the black fondness and hint of anticipation in her voice.

"A blood contract…hey, does that mean I can summon them too?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Maybe," Kakashi chuckled. "You may be Minato-sensei's son, but the contract refers to an individual's unique blood. Ideally, any ninja can summon an animal that fits their personality," he looked at Sasuke and Sakura, "but a leader of each species must approve of you and have you form a contract with them. Don't worry, I was going to cover it in the future when you guys got enough power and control to do so."

"Genin doing Jikan-Kuukan Ninjutsu?" the Hokage smiled. "You really do have faith in your team, Kakashi-kun."

"Was there ever any doubt?" The jounin's spirits sank when several loud coughs rang out. "So I guess we're accepting the mission?" he inquired, appraising his students.

"When do you want us to leave, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, speaking for all of them.

"As soon as possible. Expect to be away from the village for a few months; it's a long journey to Myobokuzan. Ah, but I'm sure Kakashi-kun will bring you all back in time for the Chuunin Exams," he said amusedly when Naruto's face started to change into an expression of horror.

"We will leave tomorrow then," Kakashi affirmed.

The Hokage nodded. "In that case, I wish you all good fortune and a sound journey. Come home safely, each and every one of you."

With the exception of Satomi, who gave a short but respectable nod, there was a chorus of, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

purikura - short for "purinto kurabu" or "print club"

onigumo - literally "ogre/demon spider"

gochisousama - similar to "thank you for the meal"

toshikoshi soba - buckwheat noodles, traditionally eaten during the New Year

sukiyaki - Japanese steamboat dish/hot pot

shirataki - clear noodles made from the konjac plant

shungiku - Garland chrysanthemum leaves

otoso - spiced medicinal sake; New Year's sake

jikan - time

kuukan - space

Rasengan - literally "Spiraling Sphere"

**Original/Non-canonical Techniques:**

Yurihari no Jutsu (揺り針の術 - "Jolting Needle Technique"), D-rank:  
_User channels a small amount of electricity through a finger, or fingers, and releases it into the opponent's body. Infliction on the spinal cord will cause temporary paralysis and an attack to the heart will cause it to go into temporary arrhythmia._

Hidan no Jutsu (火弾の術 - "Fire Bullet Technique"), D-rank:  
_A small amount of fire-based chakra is collected and expelled rapidly and forcefully through the tip of a finger, usually index. Larger sizes are possible as well as expulsion through all ten fingers. Uses include diversion, precision attacks, and support as a catalyst for greater techniques at a small expense of chakra._

Hayate Juuji no Jutsu (疾風十字の術 - "Gale Cross Technique"), C-rank:  
_Utilizing blades or flattened palms, the user slices the air in a cross or x__ fashion, propelling thin twin cuts of air straight at an opponent._

* * *

**Author's Note: **These snippets provide a nice sense of normalcy for our team…who am I kidding; there's nothing normal going on here. Especially that new scene with Naruko, huh?

Henge is a fascinating technique, but this is my take on it. I stress the difference between Henge and shapeshifting here; Naruto's Henge can be more than some illusionary shell and I'm going to attribute it to funky fox finagling. My reasoning, once again, goes into nerd territory.

Human DNA is composed of four nucleotides: cytosine, adenine, guanine, and thymine. I propose that having a demon fox stuck to your soul alters your DNA so that a fifth is introduced. Let's screw with words and call it vulpine. Vulpine is a highly dynamic substance; it is observed to have abilities such as the manipulation of certain sequences of DNA, both temporary and permanent. It can also cause cells to divide rapidly and mimic characteristics that they became intimately familiar with. For instance, Naruto's situation with Satomi resulted in his cells "knowing" how two X chromosomes behave along with his own XY set. Satomi, having been wounded countless times throughout her existence, passes on the knowledge of how to heal, along with properties of certain weapons to allow the ease of transforming into things like a fuuma shuriken.

In short, it's maaaaagic.

And the scene is somewhat important to an interlude.

The song Naruto was singing is _Sekai wa Sore wo Ai to Yobundaze_ by Sambomaster. It's something I can vividly picture the blond bundle of boisterous energy singing along to. It's got heart.

* * *

**Omake: Is it lupus?**

Kakashi hadn't been joking when he told her that becoming an iryou-nin would be difficult. After filling her brain with medical information, memorizing procedures over and over again, and practicing a few times, Sakura finally summoned up the courage to volunteer at one of the hospitals for more hands-on experience. She knew it was going to be hard and stressful, but it well exceeded her expectations. However, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy the work. After all, she was volunteering four times a week and demonstrating such proficiency that the doctors took special note of her. Thus, Sakura found herself with a surprise this particular day.

"Eh? They want me to handle a case?" Sakura stared in shock at the folder the nurse handed to her.

"Hai, Sakura-san. We've been understaffed lately and the doctors are swamped. They've been very impressed with you these past couple of months and want you to demonstrate just how good you are. They said to think of it as a trial by fire," the nurse smiled encouragingly.

Sakura swallowed hard and tried to calm her racing pulse. _'Stay focused. It's just like usual rounds without a doctor there. You don't need the safety net. You got this.'_

"Ganbatte, Sakura-san." The nurse bowed and left to attend to her duties.

"Yoshi," Sakura whispered. "I got this." _'Kick some ass, shannaro!'_ She made her way to the patient's room and glanced at the sleeping, somewhat heavyweight occupant before beginning to read the file. "Big guy," she commented under her breath. "'Forty-two year old male, presented with swelling and pain in the left thigh…unemployed…' My first actual case and I get something like tendonitis?"

"You're a moron."

Sakura whipped around at the sudden, cynical voice that ripped through her thoughts. "E…excuse me?" she stuttered, bewildered at the man who stood in the doorway.

"What, you didn't notice me? You really don't pay attention, do you?" he scoffed, reaching into his jacket and shoving a few of its contents into his mouth.

Her temper flared. "Who do you think you—"

"Your patient smokes pretty heavily." The man limped into the room with a cane and made his way around the bed.

"How do you know he—" She was interrupted by shushing sounds.

"Nicotine stains on his finger. Still talking here; shut up. Then you add in the fact that he's not exactly fit since he probably lazes around all day without a job…" He poked the patient in his abundant abdomen for emphasis.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's a sound sleeper," he replied sarcastically. "And finally, the 'swelling' is actually an edema. Put it all together and you have…?" He held out his hands expectantly.

"…Deep vein thrombosis?" Sakura asked confusedly.

"Oh good, you're not completely hopeless." When she opened her mouth to protest, he lifted the patient's blanket. "Plus, if you had actually taken a look at the guy's leg, you would've known immediately."

Indeed, to Sakura's shame, she saw that the visible veins in the patient's thigh were engorged. There was a clattering noise and the sound of a drawer opening and closing, and Sakura looked up to see the casually-dressed intruder swab rubbing alcohol on the patient's arm before stabbing a needle into it.

There was a sleepy "Ow" as he woke up and his eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," the unorthodox doctor said insincerely. "Lots of skin to go through." He looked up at the awakening man. "Relax, you're dreaming. Go back to the cake-eating contest or whatever."

The patient blinked, shrugged and did as he said.

Securing the vial of blood, the man limped back to the doorway. "Nurse!" he bellowed.

One came immediately and he handed the container to her.

"Check the D-dimer levels to confirm for DVT, then get me some urokinase and heparin." The nurse just stared at him like he had grown an extra eye. "You can either continue to stand there gaping like an idiot, or you can help prevent Tiny over there," he jerked his left thumb at the patient, "from going into respiratory distress because of a pulmonary embolism."

That seemed to snap her out of it and she quickly moved to follow his command.

He turned back to gaze at Sakura. "I would've had you do that cool chakra thing and break the clot up yourself, but at this rate, you'd most likely end up severing the poor guy's femoral artery or something."

Sakura grit her teeth harder. "How'd you know I'm a ninja?"

"Your hand's been twitching and steadily moving towards your thigh, where a weapons pouch should be. Poor career choice, really; having that kind of hair doesn't exactly scream, 'Fear me for I am a mysterious warrior of the night.'"

She growled in frustration and moved forward, clenching her fists.

"Ah-ah-ah!" He held up his cane. "Cripple. Don't be a bully."

She scowled darkly and restrained herself.

He gave a self-satisfied smile and made his way out, calling, "You can handle the rest, right? Gotta make yourself somewhat useful."

Sakura settled for viciously throwing the file in her hand at the wall. "Asshole," she muttered.


	13. Interlude Four: Myobokuzan

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Up and down. Side to side. Up and down. Side to side.

His hyper-awareness traced the bead of sweat running down his face as he desperately tried to take his mind off of the rhythmic motions his body was going through.

Up and down. Side to side. Up and down. Side to side.

His throat was tight. His voice was strangled. His heaving pants and half-lidded eyes invited quirked lips of amusement and pleasure.

Again and again and again and again and again.

Oh gods above and below, he could feel it. How he could feel it! It seared with crystal clarity and caused his body to twist and tense like a string growing more and more taut. It was welling up from deep within him, he could feel it, it was coming, oh shit fuck dammit here it comes it won't stop—!

"Bweeeeeeerrrrghhh!"

"Tsk," Satomi clucked. "You didn't even last ten minutes this time."

"Oh shut—hurp! …Urgh…shut up," Naruto moaned piteously after he finished heaving over the side of the ship. "Sakura-chaaan," he called out, though it sounded more like a low bleat, "got any more sea—urp! …seasickness pills?"

"Naruto, I already gave you over _four times_ the recommended dosage," she frowned as she looked up from her notes.

"Special circumstances," he groused, rubbing his navel both for emphasis and to quell the tempest in his gut.

"Didn't you remember to pack any?" she said in exasperation, but she was already reaching in her pack for more.

"Already popped them, ma'am."

Kakashi chuckled as their medic-in-training began lecturing their beloved knucklehead on the dangers of overdosing on anything. "It's too bad you still haven't gotten water-walking down pat. Maybe with your stamina, you could've just run across the Great Sea alongside us."

Even Sasuke, ever the diligent warrior in training, who was standing and straining perpendicular to the mast uttered a small laugh at the stricken look on Naruto's face. It was hard to be jealous of his demonic stamina when the blond looked so miserable.

Naruto glared with bloodshot eyes at his rival then accusingly at a serene Satomi.

He translated her elegant shrug as: _I don't get sick because I'm the Kyuubi no Kitsune, bitch; what are you going to do about it?_

Aloud, she merely said, "Hang in there, gaki."

He groaned and rested his forehead against the wood. "I wanted to train too…"

"Maybe you still can in a way," Sakura piped up. "Try to channel your chakra to the area around your stomach and see if you can't temper it. Make it flow with the waves or something to soothe it."

Kakashi was nodding thoughtfully.

Naruto shrugged. "Can't hurt." He closed his eyes in concentration.

After five minutes, he murmured, "Heh. Sakura, you're a genius. I think it's actually worrruuuheeeerrrrrghhh!"

Sasuke fell off the mast and onto the deck, stifling laughter despite the throbbing aches.

Kakashi sighed. That boy needed more chakra control exercises.

* * *

"Gamakichi, go greet our guests and bring them here."

"Guests, Fuka-jii?"

"Yes. The Oogama Sennin said to expect visitors today. Guide them through the northern passages. And, Gamakichi, make sure everyone knows they are not to be harmed in any way. _Any_ of them."

"Uhh…alright."

* * *

"Huuuge," Naruto gaped at the towering, misty mountain.

"Finally. I can't believe it took us two months just to get here," Sakura muttered.

"In a perfect world, everything runs on schedule," Kakashi quipped, referring to the insane amounts of delay they went through trying to find a ship to the southern continent.

"So what do we do now?" Sasuke asked. "Scale that thing?"

"Not unless ya wanna get killed for trespassing," a voice called out.

The genin snapped to attention and looked around cautiously.

"Relax. I'm not gonna hurt any of ya. I'm your welcoming committee." A small orange toad dropped out from a nearby tree and saluted. "Usu. The name's Gamakichi."

"Ooo! Tiny talking froggy," Naruto pointed.

"Actually, I'm a toad, not a frog," Gamakichi replied a little tersely.

"Oh. Tiny talking toady!" Naruto corrected.

Gamakichi just stared at him. _'Is this kid right in the head?'_

He suddenly had a chilling sensation down his warty back; if he had hairs, they would've been standing at full attention. Gamakichi turned to the red-orange-haired woman staring intently at him.

"You remind me of someone," she said lightly.

"O-oh, really?"

Why did he feel so nervous?

"They say I look a lot like my oyaji," he rambled.

"Your father?" she mused.

"Y-yeah. Oyaji's the boss of all the summon toads," Gamakichi said proudly.

"Ah. I see."

...Why was she smiling like that?

"Is this a good idea?" Naruto asked warily. "Maybe you should—"

"Even if I shifted, I doubt they wouldn't notice my presence. Besides, you know better than to try and make me hide," Satomi replied coolly.

"I'm not trying to make you hide," he scowled. "I'm trying to keep you from starting shit."

"Hmph. I don't start things; I finish them." She smirked at his stern expression. "I won't pick a fight with them," she relented.

"Well then, let's get going," Kakashi said cheerfully, hiding the anxiety he felt. "Lead the way, Gamakichi."

"Osu!"

* * *

"Welcome to Myobokuzan," a wizened, small toad greeted them. "My name is Fukasaku, and this," he motioned to another old toad beside him, "is my wife, Shima."

"You don't have to sound so unhappy about it, Pa," Shima grumbled.

"You're just hearing things, Ma," Fukasaku replied calmly.

"Oh-hoh, so now I'm a nuisance _and_ deaf, eh?"

"Well, at least one of those is certainly true."

"Ah, excuse me," Kakashi spoke up a little awkwardly. "Is this a bad time?"

"Oh no, no," Fukasaku said quickly. "We've actually been expecting you."

"You have?" Naruto asked, surprised. "How?"

"Well, we—"

A tremendous crashing sound interrupted the toad and the ground shook violently as something enormous landed in the vicinity.

"Fukasaku!" came a gruff roar. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Everyone stared up at the daunting red-orange mass in awe.

Everyone, that is, except Satomi.

"I knew it," the impressive toad rumbled darkly. "It's different, but I recognize that foul presence, Kyuubi no Youko!"

"Yo, Gamabunta, wasn't it?" she greeted nonchalantly with a feral grin and released her ears and tails. "How's the eye?"

"Better once I repay the favor!" the gigantic amphibian growled before reaching behind him into his coat and drawing a knife that had to be around a dozen meters long.

Satomi's grin grew wider with excitement and she crouched low while everyone else tensed.

"Bunta, stand down!" Fukasaku commanded. "It is the Oogama's wish that there will be no transgressions!"

"That old fossil's senile," Gamabunta snapped and raised his knife. He paused, however, when Naruto leapt in front of Satomi and got into a battle stance while glaring up at the toad boss.

"We didn't come here so anyone could settle a score!" the blond yelled. "So cool it down before we have to hurt you!"

Gamabunta stared down at him and narrowed his eyes. "Impudent gaki," he spat. "I didn't expect Minato's brat to be so defensive of his father's murderer."

"Satomi didn't murder him! She may have been the cause, but he chose to die to save Konoha and give her a second chance, so don't fuck with my dad's wishes!"

There was a long terse moment before Gamabunta finally lowered his knife.

"Chinpira. What are you here for then? The sooner you're done with your business, the sooner you can get the fuck out."

"We're looking for Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said quickly.

"Jiraiya-chan?" Shima inquired with a surprised tone. "He finally left this place a few months ago. Said something about looking for 'the big-breasted slug princess.'"

"That'd be Tsunade-sama," Kakashi sighed. "Any idea where he went?"

"I imagine he'd be combing the northern continent, but he didn't say any place in particular," Fukasaku replied apologetically. "Here's a tip though: check every town with hot springs or a brothel."

"I already had that in mind," the jounin chuckled dryly.

"What kind of guy is this Jiraiya supposed to be?!" Sakura hissed to Sasuke.

"That's all, right?" Gamabunta rumbled. "Now get out of here and never bring _her_ back here again." He glared at Naruto and Satomi. "You may be Minato's son, gaki, and you may have the inborn ability to summon my toads, but I forbid them from fighting alongside that fox."

Naruto grit his teeth. "That's fine," he spat. "We can manage perfectly fine without your help!" He turned around and stormed off. "Let's get out of here," he called to his team.

"Thank you for your help," Kakashi bowed at the toads, and Sasuke and Sakura did as well, albeit hesitantly, before they all followed the blonde. Satomi tipped her head at Fukasaku and Shima then stared up at Gamabunta.

"Pity. I was looking forward to a rematch," she smirked.

"If I ever see you again, I'll kill you," he threatened.

"How cliché," she scoffed, turning her back to the toads and feeling the twinges of emptiness assail her being.

"Don't try to act so tough when you lack the power to back it up, _Kyuubi_," he said mockingly.

"That's enough, Bunta," Fukasaku warned.

Satomi turned her head and smirked again before walking off and flicking her tails in their direction.

Once they were gone and out of earshot, Fukasaku sighed. "You shouldn't have antagonized them so, Bunta."

"I don't know what the hell Minato was thinking," he scowled. "What's so special about her? About them?"

"According to Oogama Sennin, quite a bit," Shima replied cryptically.

"Hmph. We'll see."

**INTERLUDE OUT**

* * *

**Translations:**

Oogama Sennin - Great Toad Sage

usu - how yakuza greet senior members

chinpira - yakuza insult meaning "little prick"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I love the yakuza language. It's so...fluidly brazen.

I will say here that I'm planning to have Naruto not summon toads. Really, I don't want him summoning at all. Don't even get me started on the whole Sage Mode business.


	14. Interlude Five: Hold

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

Two poofs sounded out and Sasuke watched expectantly. When the clones didn't move, he activated his Sharingan and walked over to them. A couple of tentative pokes confirmed that they were solid, but their eyes were dull and lifeless. He fought back a shudder.

"Well, that's creepy," Naruto voiced for him.

"Hn."

It was progress, he supposed. He hadn't gotten a splitting headache the past few attempts, and now he could produce corporeal clones.

'_It drains so much chakra,'_ Sasuke observed with a frown. _'Even when the technique is incomplete.'_

Sakura gave a thoughtful glance as she breathed heavily from her position near a scorched patch of earth. Sustaining a large and steady Goukakyuu, she reasoned, was a good way to expand her coils while fine-tuning her control. She was up to sixteen seconds now.

"Maybe another look at Naruto or Kakashi-sensei's Kage Bunshin?" she suggested, making a vague gesture over her left shoulder to where she thought the jounin and Satomi were having what Naruto flippantly called a lethal game of hide and seek.

Sakura yelped when their sensei suddenly appeared on her right.

"Someone call my name?" he asked cheekily. He hopped back to avoid getting his tendons cut and hopped a second time because he didn't want to get eviscerated by a flash of claws. "Time out," he snapped, half-glaring at the vixen shamelessly flexing her fingers.

"Couldn't resist, oh ex-ANBU," she smiled.

"No," Sasuke answered Sakura, ignoring the so-called adults. "I know how the chakra works. It's the duplication of conscious that's difficult."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Think of it this way: ever stand in front of a tri-fold mirror?"

"A paradox," Sasuke murmured with some clarity. "To exist as many, but still as one."

"Bah, so complicated," Naruto grumbled. At Sasuke's challenging glare, he went on, "Y'know how there's a saying like 'channel your inner child?' Well, unless you're such a stuck-up bastard, you've caused it to shrivel up and—err…"

He tried to extract his foot from his mouth under disapproving looks at his insensitivity. _'And what exactly happened when he was a child? Ugh.'_

Naruto got ready to scuffle with his teammate to wallop the angst out of his system, but the usual tight anger that electrified the air wasn't present. In fact, Sasuke actually looked a little thoughtful.

"Err…Sasuke?" The blond was getting a little worried at his silence while the others watched with curiosity.

Thoughts of his near-death experience in Wave flashed in Sasuke's mind and something clicked.

With the light of an epiphany in his eyes, he channeled the dizzying amount of chakra, let it spiral through and out of his body, and formed a cross seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Again, there was two poofs, but this time, there was also a rush of excitement because it felt different, felt right, and sure, it felt like the back of his brain was throbbing, but Naruto was already voicing his own triumph as the smoke cleared.

"Alright teme, about time! Oh man, training's gonna get so much more fun now—"

"Wait."

Kakashi's voice, except it wasn't their sensei's voice. It was a commander's voice.

_Stand down. Possible threat. Caution._

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura whispered in bewilderment. "…Sasuke-kun?"

At first glance, the Uchiha appeared neutral. That was odd; he should've been exhibiting satisfaction or a sense of achievement or that arrogant cockiness of his. But no, his eyes were a little too wide and she could tell his jaw was slack even if his mouth wasn't gaping. He just kept staring at one of his two clones. Not the one that was looking back at him with a slight tilt of the head and deep, questioning eyes that seemed to be searching for something, but the other one, the one that—oh.

Sasuke was trying very hard not to step back. Gods above and below, were those really his eyes? Such rage, such _hate_ emanating from those blood-red Sharingan, combined with lips that curled into a feral snarl and twisted his mirror self into a wraith of vengeance.

And then it spoke.

"_Weak_."

And this time, Sasuke really did step back because all that seething, flaying hatred speared into his chest in a wintery tone that sounded more like _him_ than he ever thought he could sound like.

"_Foolish_," the him-but-was-it-really-could-it-really-be-him continued. "How long are you going to waste your time? All these _missions_, all this _training_, and you're still not strong enough. You're being held back."

And he wanted to protest, he really did (even if it was a little true), but surprisingly, his other Kage Bunshin leapt to the defense.

"It takes _time_, and we're making progress every day," it argued with the firm aura of a guardian. "We learn something new every day and we're steadily getting stronger."

"We? _We_?" Scorn and malice oozed out of the avenger's mouth. "_I_ want to be stronger now! I _need_ to be stronger _now_! You!" He pointed a finger at the real Sasuke, but the digit might as well have been a blade. "You are too concerned with pathetic things like _bonds_ and _doubt_ and _fear_, when you should be looking for more _power_!"

"There is power _here_," was the other's protest. "And we can help keep them safe this way!"

"Safe?! Either they hold you back and you will fail, or they will die and everything happens all over again, and you're too softhearted to realize what you need to do!"

"That's not what I want!"

"That's what I _need_ so I can _kill him_!"

"I don't want that either! I just want to—"

He wasn't allowed to voice his desires; the vengeful one drove a kunai into his neck and the clone disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke stumbled back and choked at the influx of experience, his hand flying up to his throat as he tried to tell himself yes, he could still breathe and no, there wasn't steel lodged in there.

The spectre stared steadily at him. "You know what you have to do," he proclaimed with eerie calm, "for more power." The Sharingan flickered minutely and Sasuke felt his own activate.

"_No!_" he screamed, already moving in tandem with the errant Shadow Clone. His motions were successful; the clone's to stab Naruto were not. There was a flash of utter betrayal on the Kage Bunshin's face before he disappeared from the kunai in his chest.

The only sounds for several moments after that were Sasuke's heavy breaths.

'_Don't ask,'_ he thought, feeling the weight of his team's gazes. _'Don't ask. Don't ask me to reveal any more than I already have. Don't.'_

Don't think about it.

Don't think about _him_.

Don't think about what his clones meant.

Don't think about how true they both were.

Don't think about how he tried to kill Naruto.

Don't think about how he protected Naruto.

Don't think about how he essentially killed himself to protect Naruto because he was too unstable in the head apparently all because of _him_ and how dangerous _he_ was to everyone because he was right, he was getting too close, but he just can't stop now and he can't stop here and he can't run ahead without looking back no he has to if he ever wants to wants to what wants answers wants to kill wants to keep them here keep them safe keep them close keep them far far away from _him_ but he needs them _here_ to get stronger and to stay sane what am I saying _sane people don't want to kill their own friends_—!

"Uchiha Sasuke," Kakashi's voice pierced the madness.

It wasn't a command to get his attention. It wasn't a demand for explanations. It wasn't even condemnation for his actions or admonishment at his revealed secrets.

It was affirmation.

Uchiha Sasuke. That's who he is. The last of the Uchiha Clan, a member of Team Seven, Kakashi's student, Naruto's rival, Sakura's crush, Satomi's…who the hell knew how that fox woman viewed him?

But he was also _his_…Itachi's brother.

And Kakashi was here, now, in front of Sasuke with uncovered eyes that acknowledged that yes, he had issues, what shinobi didn't, much less the rest of their team, but he was still going to do his best to guide Sasuke (guide, not hinder), and maybe someday Sasuke will be able to tell Kakashi about what happened that awful, awful night and tell him about the forbidden, bloodstained secret of the Sharingan and maybe he'll also get to find out the story behind Kakashi's own Sharingan in exchange.

And Naruto was here, now, staring and scowling at him, practically vibrating with unspoken questions and demands, and Sasuke can see just how much he wants to push until Sasuke gives in to that overprotective nature of his, but for now, he won't and he'll just let his fists do the talking, and that's fine too because honorary brother or not (more brother than _him_ nowadays), they're still awkward when they're not being aggressive at one another.

And Sakura was here, now, coming up behind him and grasping one of his hands, and he jerked a little at the contact, but she held fast and he realized with a quiet snort that she had reinforced her hands with chakra just so he couldn't get away (not going to leave him alone), and he didn't realize that he had been tightening his fists that much that his nails broke skin until she started healing him, and even though she could only get it to start scabbing, that was fine because it was a good and heartfelt effort.

And Satomi was here, now, and even though she was the most difficult to read and understand, she was brutally honest and had no qualms about putting people where she thought they should be, and that was fine because despite all the teasing and antagonizing and chaos her presence created, Sasuke could count on and respect her ruthlessness, and he knew without a doubt that if he went off the deep end and tried to kill Naruto in exchange for power to become like his brother (no, never, _never_ like Itachi), she would kill Sasuke first no matter how much it would devastate Naruto and the rest of the team.

Okay, so maybe he _was_ being held back, but sometimes he felt like he was on the precipice of a cliff trying to keep from giving into that insane urge to leap, so wasn't that a good thing?

And maybe he was broken, but instead of looking at it as being held back, maybe he was being held together instead?

And that part of him, the one that thoughtlessly protected Sakura in Wave, made him crack a smile at Naruto's idiot antics, looked up to Kakashi as a teacher and maybe more, and groused somewhat good-naturedly at Satomi's treatment of him, the part that the avenger in his heart venomously sneered at had to point something out.

After all Sasuke had gone through, maybe, just maybe, wasn't it nice just to be held at all?

**INTERLUDE OUT**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Delicious angst, character development, and team-building. Remember: I'm trying to temper his vengeance, not dull.

Also, do not take Kage Bunshin lightly.


	15. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Tomorrow's the Chuunin Exams," he growled as they walked through the street. "Freakin' _tomorrow_ and there's no sign of them." The dog riding atop his head barked, sharing his master's mood.

"I'm sure they're on their way, Kiba-kun. N-Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san wouldn't be late for something like this." At least, she certainly hoped so; the other alternative was that something had happened to them. _'No,'_ she thought firmly. _'I don't believe that.'_

"I thought we weaned you off the stuttering thing," Kiba chuckled, causing Hinata to flush. "Only when Naruto comes up, huh?" She flushed harder. "I still don't know what you see in that guy," he murmured more to himself.

"He is going to be the opposition in the Exams, Hinata," Shino said softly.

"I will be able to handle it, Shino-kun," Hinata nodded firmly, addressing his unspoken concern. Shino nodded at her in reply.

"Of course you will, Hinata!" Kiba grinned confidently. "But I wanna be the one to kick Naruto's ass."

"If anyone's going to kick my rival's ass, it's going to be me!"

Team Eight turned around to look at the origin of the voice.

"Hey, aren't you that Naruto-wannabe?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't even notice you," he goaded.

Konohamaru fumed and a bright orange-haired girl his age beside him put a hand on his shoulder. "Leave Konohamaru-kun alone, you scruffy-looking mutt man!" she shouted.

"Scruffy-looking…mutt man?" Kiba's eye twitched while Hinata suppressed a giggle.

"Moegi-chan, maybe it's not a good idea to provoke such a big opponent," a sniffling glasses-clad boy on the other side of Konohamaru said nervously.

"Damn straight," Kiba sniffed as he put on a menacing face and cracked his knuckles.

"Kiba-kun, be nice," Hinata chastised softly behind him.

"Oi, dog boy, quit picking on little kids!" a feminine voice called out.

Team Eight looked up and the trio of kids glanced behind them. Ino was waving at them with Shikamaru and Chouji following.

"Bah. They started it."

"Knowing a troublesome guy like you, I call bullshit," Shikamaru smiled wryly.

Kiba just gave a cocky grin.

"Where's Sasuke-kun and his team? They're still not back yet?" Ino practically pouted.

"There is still time. We believe they are just running late," Shino said in his neutral tone.

"Figures. I heard their sensei was a chronically tardy lazy bum," Ino sighed. "At least Shikamaru's just a lazy bum; he's always on time."

"Because if I'm not, you make my day even more troublesome," Shikamaru muttered with a sigh.

Chouji nodded solemnly beside him, munching on an ever-present bag of chips.

"Hm? Could you speak up, Shika-kun?" Ino asked sweetly.

_'I don't think I'll ever get women,'_ he lamented mentally as he shook his head.

"Ahh, damn you people, you're ignoring me again!" Konohamaru shouted in outrage.

They blinked down at him.

"You know, you kinda look familiar," Ino mused.

Konohamaru turned redder.

"The hell with you people!" the boy yelled and started running off. He turned his head and called back, "C'mon, Moegi, Udon, let's get out of here!"

"Konohamaru-chan, watch out!" Moegi cried, but it was too late as Konohamaru collided with something black and over twice his size.

"Oi…that hurts," the imposing figure said in a deceptively light tone.

"S-sorry," Konohamaru gulped and tried to back away. However, the boy found he couldn't budge. _'Wh-what? Why can't I move?!'_

"You're sorry, huh?" the face-painted teen in black said as he smiled amusedly. The next thing Konohamaru knew, he was swiped up by his collar and held in midair. "How sorry are you?"

"Oi, we're not supposed to cause trouble," a sandy-blonde young woman carrying a giant fan said behind him.

"Relax, he isn't even around. Besides, this kid bumped into me. I hate rude midgets like that." The foreigner glared at Konohamaru, who began shaking.

"Hey, let the kid go, you freaky looking asshole!" Kiba shouted as Teams Eight and Ten approached quickly but cautiously.

"Great, more annoyances. You've really done it now, Kankuro," the kunoichi said in exasperation. "You're on your own dealing with this."

"Like I need your help dealing with these tree-hugging pansies, Temari," Kankuro scoffed.

"Sonuva…let's go, Akamaru!" The white dog barked and leapt off, and they both charged towards Kankuro.

However, they didn't get past several meters before it seemed like they both slipped on something. Kiba had to readjust his weight to avoid falling on his canine companion.

"Kiba-kun! Akamaru-kun!" Hinata cried out in alarm.

"How the hell did that happen?!" Ino exclaimed as they all prepared to attack.

"What to do with you two?" Kankuro mused thoughtfully, unconcerned at the group of genin. Konohamaru continued to squirm in one of his hands while the other was flexed. "Maybe I'll rip your dog's limbs off."

Kiba paled slightly and redoubled his efforts to fight against whatever was keeping his legs from moving.

Two dull thwaps suddenly sounded out, and Kankuro instinctively flinched and pulled his throbbing right wrist and left palm closer to his body. Konohamaru fell to the ground and he immediately scrambled away while Temari got ready to draw her fan and all the other genin tensed.

"Oi, kabuki reject!" a loud voice called out from above.

"Why don't you try taking on someone more worthwhile?" another continued coolly.

Everyone glanced up at a tree to see none other than Naruto standing on a large branch and Sasuke leaning against the trunk near him. Sasuke was tossing a pebble up and down and Naruto played with one between his fingers, and both stared down at the troublemaking foreigner. Surprise was at the forefront in the minds of all those present.

_'Dammit, I should've paid more attention,'_ Temari thought bitterly as she relaxed her hold on her fan; the tip of a kunai rested between her C7 and T1 vertebrae.

"Good. Otherwise, you'd lose the functions of your arms," Sakura murmured from behind her.

_'Damn punks snuck up on us…'_ Kankuro fumed inwardly as he surreptitiously connected chakra strings to the bulk on his back.

"Enough, Kankuro." The cold tone of a newcomer amplified the tension in the air and froze it. Everyone snapped their gazes towards the upside-down figure on the branch opposite to Naruto and Sasuke's. "You're a worthless disgrace."

"Ga-Gaara…" Kankuro swallowed nervously and Temari was sweating behind him. "I was just—"

"Shut up before I kill you." The tone was flat and remorseless, but carried such a weighted promise behind it that all present could not help but shiver.

Naruto in particular felt a strong wave of discomfort and anxiety, but there was also a hint of something else. _'What's with this guy…and this feeling of familiarity?'_ He could feel Satomi's tense furry body under his clothes, but strangely, she wasn't showing herself.

The red-haired teen disappeared in a swirl of sand and Sakura leapt back a lengthy distance right before he reappeared in front of Temari and Kankuro. Naruto and Sasuke joined their teammate's side immediately while the one called Gaara faced Teams Eight and Ten.

"I apologize for his stupidity," he said without sounding sorry at all.

"Don't worry; you Suna bastards will end up sorry enough in the Exams," Sasuke scoffed.

Gaara rotated his head slightly to look at him, and then turned his entire back towards Kiba and the other genin. The implication was not lost on the Inuzuka, who dug his claws into the earth in aggravation. Gaara inspected Team Seven unblinkingly and when his gaze lingered on Naruto, the blood-haired Suna-nin grimaced and grasped at his suddenly pounding head.

"Gaara?! What's wrong?!" Temari gasped.

"Shut up," he murmured not just to her as inhuman shrieks began to resound through his head. "We're leaving." He glared at Team Seven with dark, strained eyes. "You three…interest me."

Before anyone could speak up again, a large swirl of sand surrounded the visitors from Sunagakure and they disappeared.

_'Such an advanced skill…we didn't even sense it at first,'_ Sakura thought warily.

_'Already found an interesting guy to fight…even if he creeps the hell out of me,'_ Sasuke mused.

"That guy's trouble," Naruto muttered darkly. His teammates looked at him in surprise and curiosity, but he couldn't respond.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" Moegi barreled towards him and halted in front of him. "Thank you for saving Konohamaru-chan!"

"I would've been fine on my own!" Konohamaru fumed with wounded pride.

"I'm sure you would've," Naruto laughed patronizingly, but then he looked at the boy seriously. "But you're getting much stronger than the last time I saw you. Got yourself a genin team already?"

"No, we haven't graduated yet," Konohamaru replied sullenly, but he was flushing slightly as well.

"Well, having good friends is a great first step," Naruto grinned.

Moegi and Udon smiled brightly up at him at that. He looked up at the other genin of his year.

"Yo, everyone! Sorry we're late, we—" He stopped abruptly with a look of pure horror on his face. "Oh, gods, I sound like Kakashi!" he wailed.

"Nice to see you're still a freakin' retard," Kiba jeered.

"Nice to see you didn't run for the hills with your tail between your legs," Naruto retorted despite the grin on his face.

"Some things never change; still as troublesome as ever, huh?" Shikamaru said dryly.

"He's not the only one who never changes," Ino ribbed.

"Apparently so," Sakura ground out with obvious animosity as she watched Ino try to constantly latch onto Sasuke's arm.

"Oh, didn't see you there, forehead," she sneered in response. "Surprising."

"Once a pig, always a pig, huh?" Sakura shot back, huffing and tilting her nose upwards. The motion caused Ino and most everyone present to feel actual surprise.

"Sakura…" Ino whispered in amazement and horror. "_You cut your hair_?"

"Oh." She ran a hand through the back of her pink locks, which were beginning to reach between her shoulder blades. "Yeah, I did," she stated matter-of-factly.

"But…but a woman's hair is one of her pride and joys!" Ino protested.

To her further dismay, Sakura shrugged.

"Short hair doesn't make me any less of a woman, and it stays out of the way when it comes to being a kunoichi." She adopted a smug look. "Not that you'd know anything about that." Ino clenched her fist and moved to advance threateningly.

"We haven't seen each other for months and you're getting in a fight already?" Naruto pointed out.

"Huh, it's so weird to see Naruto being the sensible one," Chouji commented as he opened a fresh bag of chips.

"Indeed," Shino said with a slight hint of amusement that Hinata and Kiba easily picked up on.

"Ano," the pale-eyed Hyuuga heiress cringed mentally, "welcome home, Sasuke-san, Sakura-san, Na-Naruto-kun," she greeted each one and flared red when facing her crush.

"Thanks, Hinata," Naruto smiled in return as Sasuke and Sakura dipped their heads to her. "It's good to be back." He paused and looked at her curiously. "Y'know, speaking of hair, are you growing yours out?" Hinata froze. "It looks nice, a lot better than before. It suits you," he said decisively and grinned.

_'I will not faint, I will not faint, I will not faint…'_

She grasped onto the mental mantra like a lifesaver as she stuttered out, "Th-thank you, Na-Naruto-kun…I'm…very, very glad you think th-that way."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at their interaction and stated, "Dobe, stop flirting with the poor girl."

"F-f-flirting?!" Hinata's head spun. "Na-Naruto-kun's—"

"Teme, why do you have to—"

"Naruto, you bastard, leave Hinata alone," Kiba scowled.

"Kiba, you too?! What the hell? I'm just saying, Hinata looks really—"

"E-everyone!" Hinata suddenly cried, refusing to make eye contact with anybody. "P-please excuse us. I…ano…I-I…we…uhm…"

"We still have things to do before the Exam tomorrow," Shino assisted, adjusting his glasses. "Also, Hinata, I believe you said you wanted to go home early and clean up a little?"

"Ah…hai! Th-thank you for reminding me, Shino-kun!" Still averting her gaze, she bowed to everyone. "P-please excuse us! We will see you all tomorrow at the Academy!"

And with that, she swiftly retreated, followed closely by Shino.

"O-oi! Wait for me!" Kiba shouted and ran off after them while Akamaru barked on his head.

"What the hell was that all about?" Naruto muttered.

"It's kinda cute in a way," Ino chuckled.

"I wouldn't want to be in such a troublesome position," Shikamaru sighed.

"I get the feeling you wouldn't explain it to me even if I asked," Naruto scowled.

"At least you understand that, Naruto," Sakura laughed, patting him on the head. Sasuke just shook his head. The blond pouted but perked up.

"That's a good idea though; we should head home and clean up too. We've been gone for months."

"That's true," Sakura agreed and Sasuke nodded. "Alright, we'll see you guys tomorrow too. Be prepared, Ino-buta."

"Same to you, forehead," she replied in a clipped tone.

Shikamaru sighed again and Chouji waved goodbye, and they parted their separate ways.

* * *

"Next time we go on a long trip, I'm leaving a Kage Bunshin behind to at least keep the place clean," Naruto muttered as he wiped a layer of dust off his table with a finger.

"You're going to maintain keeping a portion of your chakra and conscious apart from you for months?" Satomi deadpanned. "Never mind the distance involved."

"It was an idea," he groused as he summoned a pair of Shadow Clones to tidy up the apartment. As one of them updated his calendar, he smiled and stretched. "Man, I'm excited about tomorrow!"

A chorus of "Hell yeah!" rose from his Kage Bunshin.

"Good for you. I get to sit on the sidelines and watch you get your ass beat by other brats." She quickly schooled her features into neutrality when she realized she had begun to sulk.

_'Damn your influence, Naruto.'_

"Dammit, I get enough of that shit from Sasuke," he scowled.

"Besides, you had plenty of fun terrorizing people here and there," one of his clones pointed out.

"I wouldn't say _plenty_, per se." A smile played on Satomi's lips as she recalled some memorable events during their journey.

"You made two kids almost cry when you said you'd eat them if they didn't stop holding onto your legs!"

"It was an obvious joke," Satomi rolled her eyes. "I'm not exactly great with kids."

"There was that one woman was kept throwing ofuda at you and demanding that we leave the village," Naruto recalled.

"Ah, yes," she remembered the mild stinging of the talismans. "It was unfortunate of us to stumble across a place with a hypersensitive person like that. Luckily, everyone else thought she was senile…and I didn't hurt her."

"…You practically burned the balls right off of that one guy in Injamura," Naruto retorted in a hollow voice. A couple of his clones shuddered while the rest winced and clutched at their genitals protectively.

"I warned him not try and grope my ass," she shrugged.

"He was drunk!"

"More error on his part. Besides, I did the world a favor; do you really want idiots like that to procreate?"

"She has a point," a Kage Bunshin spoke up.

"Don't encourage her," Naruto warned tiredly.

"But…we're you," another clone pointed out. Naruto blinked steadily at him and made a _hitsuji_ seal with slow deliberation. Recognition dawned on the clones' faces and they pouted. "You suck."

"**Kai**," Naruto said simply and his Kage Bunshin all disappeared.

"See? Even you get annoyed at yourself. Think how the rest of us must feel."

"Oh shut up." Satomi just laughed. They fell into a comfortable, companionate peace, but it didn't last long. "Satomi…earlier…"

Her face darkened. "Yeah. What did the old man call it? Jinchuuriki?"

"I can't believe it…there's another person like me right here in Konoha." Naruto paused in his tidying. "But…he makes me nervous."

"Are you frightened by his presence?" she gazed at him shrewdly.

"…It's more like I'm scared what he can do to other people." He recollected how Gaara had threatened Kankuro without any hint of emotion.

"What will you do? Will you warn everyone?"

"Sasuke and Sakura at least. I wouldn't know how to explain it to the other genin," he sighed. "Do you know which one is it?"

"Ichibi no Tanuki," Satomi replied, "of the sand and wind."

"Makes sense; they're from Sunagakure." He licked his dry lips. "Is he going to be a problem?"

"Back then, he would not dare cross my path. He had a healthy fear and respect for me." Satomi glanced up at the ceiling, summoning memories that seemed ancient now. "I don't know what he'll do now. I'm sure he's at least sensed my presence but I don't have a good feeling for when he finds out what's become of me."

"Is that why you didn't show yourself earlier?" Naruto guessed.

"Mm. That wasn't exactly a good place for a possible confrontation between us." Naruto smiled gratefully at her, knowing it slighted her pride to have to hide.

"I hope nothing bad happens," he murmured.

Deep down, however, they knew that the hope was futile.

* * *

"It's been awhile since we've been in here, huh?" Sakura said fondly as they glanced around the Academy.

"Aa," Sasuke nodded. "How befitting; we became Genin here, and now, we're going to become Chuunin here."

"Anyone else wish Iruka-sensei were here to see us?" Naruto spoke up softly.

Sakura reached over to place a hand on his shoulder and Sasuke made a quiet noncommittal sound.

"So you gonna cry about it all day or are you going to make him proud?"

"I ain't crying, teme!"

"C'mon, boys," Sakura sighed with a smile as she made her way to the stairs. "Room 301, right?"

"According to Kakashi-sensei, yeah," Naruto said dryly as they ascended. However, when they cleared one flight of stairs, a crowd drew their attention. "Are those genin?" His face darkened. "Did Kakashi-sensei try to screw us over again?"

"I don't think so," Sakura replied slowly. "There's something not right here." She turned to Sasuke. "Genjutsu?"

"A faint one, yes." He deactivated his Sharingan and deduced, "Looks like it disorients and confuses people on a subtle level."

He and Naruto watched as the mass of genin fussed amongst themselves and noticed that two in particular seemed to be hindering the others' progress.

"Look at the sign above them," Sakura pointed out.

The boys looked up towards the plaque that read "301."

"They didn't notice that they only went up one set of stairs?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"You almost didn't either," Sakura reminded.

"Meh." The blond scratched his head sheepishly. "I hate genjutsu."

They continued to observe as the crowd bickered with the two self-appointed guardians.

"Should we do something?" Sakura questioned.

"The more that get stopped here, the less we'll have to deal with," Sasuke responded sensibly.

Naruto was inclined to agree, until one of the two antagonists kicked a genin in green to the floor and sneered down at him with a superior air. The cerulean-eyed teen clenched his fists.

"Not like we won't end up beating them anyway," Naruto muttered before advancing purposefully.

"Naruto!" Sasuke hissed, but it was too late. "Goddammit. You would think getting traits from that kitsune would inhibit that noble streak of his," he snapped quietly to Sakura, who just sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Oi, you assholes in front of the doors!" Naruto shouted, dominating everyone's attention. "Quit fucking around with these genin."

"Hey, c'mon now, we're doing all of you a huge favor," the one with spiky black hair placate patronizingly. "After all, we've been around the Exams for awhile."

"That's right. We're preventing rookies like you from getting yourselves killed," his bandanna-wearing partner added mockingly. He smiled with satisfaction when several genin shifted their gazes uncertainly.

"How noble of you." Sarcasm dripped out of Naruto's mouth as he walked closer. "Great excuse while raising your self-esteem just because you're weaklings who have failed a shitload of times."

"A genin like you, calling us weaklings?" the spiky-haired one laughed. "Care to test that?"

Naruto's response was to viciously throw a punch forward while his opponent's leg shot up at a faster rate. However, both limbs were halted in midair.

"You're an idiot, Naruto," Sasuke growled as he held fast onto his teammate's fist. He also hid his surprise at the fact that the genin dressed in green from earlier was currently holding onto the leg of the other ninja almost effortlessly.

"Mou, Lee, we weren't supposed to show off our skill," a girl with her hair tied in twin buns complained from beside a Hyuuga male.

"My apologies, Tenten, but I did not want things to progress so far," Lee said solemnly, letting go of the stunned ninja's leg. "Besides…" He turned his gaze to Sakura, who immediately felt an uncomfortable sense of foreboding. "A beautiful blooming flower of youth has graced us with her presence."

Sakura might have been very flattered, had it not been for one tiny detail. _'Creepy…thick…fuzzy…eyebrows.'_

"You are such a fool, Lee," the Hyuuga murmured in annoyance. He turned to face the duo in front of the doors. "Now cease this interference and remove this pathetic genjutsu so we can all be on our way. Surely chuunin such as yourselves have better things to do."

The pair looked mildly surprised and smirked as they released their illusions with a wave of chakra. The sign above the doors returned to normal and read "201" while two tall chuunin now faced the crowd.

"Tch. We didn't even have to do anything after all," Sasuke scowled and glared at Naruto as many genin began to disperse with dark expressions. "Now can we go?"

"Yeah, yeah. Damn bastard," Naruto sniffed. Sakura was all too eager to escape the intense gaze of Lee, and the trio left the scene.

_'What an interesting bunch this year,'_ the two chuunin thought.

_'Uchiha Sasuke, huh?'_ Hyuuga Neji smiled in anticipation.

"Neji, Tenten, please go on ahead without me," Lee spoke up suddenly. "I will meet up with you later."

Neji scowled and ignored his spandex-wearing teammate while Tenten sighed in a long-suffering manner.

"You better not make us late, Lee," she warned.

"It will not take that long," he assured.

* * *

"Damn Uchiha, getting all the attention," Naruto huffed as they all stood in a training hall. He and Sakura watched as Sasuke and Lee faced each other down; the older genin had caught up with them and requested a short match against the famous prodigy.

"Jealous, dobe?" Sasuke called out, though he didn't avert his gaze from his challenger.

"Pah. Just hurry up and beat his ass before we're late, teme."

"Your confidence in your teammate is inspiring, but…" Lee shifted his gaze to Sakura, who found herself edging closer to Naruto. "Sakura-san, was it not? I, Rock Lee, will use the flames of my youthfulness to win your heart over!" he declared with a fire in his eyes and blew a kiss towards her.

She made a distressed sound and ducked behind Naruto, who grimaced.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, I ain't jealous anymore. He's all yours, Sasuke," Naruto said flippantly.

"Please do not underestimate me; at this point, I am the strongest genin in Konoha," Lee spoke as though he were stating a simple truth.

"I'll prove that wrong, you thick-browed freak!" Sasuke declared as he shot forward and launched three kunai as a precursor before executing quick, flawless taijutsu attacks.

However, Lee deflected the kunai with his bandage-wrapped fists, to their amazement, and proceeded to block or dodge every one of Sasuke's moves. A thrusting jab was knocked aside while a sweeping fist harmlessly passed over Lee's bowl-cut. Sasuke attempted to correct the overbalance by whipping up his left leg in a roundhouse kick. That was also blocked though, and when the Uchiha began to utilize a following attack, Lee quickly countered with his own. Sasuke barely ducked under the first kick and when he realized there was a second rapidly following, he tried to block it. Less than half a second later, he was flying through the air with his side throbbing.

Cries of "Sasuke-kun!" and "Sasuke!" rang out from his teammates.

_'Dammit, what the hell?! Was that genjutsu or something?!'_ he thought as he flipped his body and landed in a crouched position. _'I'll just have to make sure.'_

As simple as breathing now, his pair of two-tomoe Sharingan materialized.

"Being able to recover from my Konoha Senpuu, as expected from the offspring of a genius clan. And I am honored to finally see the famed Sharingan," Lee said respectfully. "However, it will all do you no good."

Sasuke said nothing as he grit his teeth, settled his feet into the ground, and moved into a defensive posture. Lee nodded in approval before his body shot forward.

_'I can see it…it's a kick to my—'_ A grunt of pain sounded out. Despite having tried to counter, Sasuke once again found himself sailing through the air.

_'Fuck!'_

He landed on his feet a little unsteadily and placed a hand to his bruising cheek.

_'That wasn't genjutsu. Hell, it wasn't even ninjutsu!'_

"That is correct, Sasuke-san," Lee spoke up triumphantly, noticing the realization on his opponent's face. "My attacks are nothing but pure taijutsu."

"That can't be just taijutsu!" Naruto shouted in protest, though the sensible part of his mind was saying otherwise.

"His speed is insane," Sakura muttered in awe. Fashionably misguided this Rock Lee character may have been, but his sheer strength could make up for that particular shortcoming.

"I'll just have to do something about that," Sasuke growled as his hands rifled through hand seals. However, he only got halfway before Lee appeared below his field of vision.

_'Shi—'_

"**Konoha Shoufuu!**" With a swift upward kick, Sasuke was propelled vertically and almost instantly, Lee appeared behind him. "**Konoha Kage Buyou.**" Somewhere in between the two attacks, Lee had loosened the bandages around his hands and forearms. "It seems I must end this before it furthers any more, by any means necessary."

_'Forgive me, Gai-sensei!'_

The next thing everyone knew, a spinning green mass had barreled into the two combatants, knocking them aside. Naruto and Sakura reacted quickly, leaping forth to catch their teammate and set him down before he could crash into the wall. Sakura immediately began using her rudimentary skills at healing and managed to suppress a bruise from forming. Lee, on the other hand, impacted solidly against the concrete and slid down.

"Lee!" a baritone voice roared. "What do you think you're doing?!" Team Seven looked up and their gazes settled on a man who could only be described as an adult version of Rock Lee.

_'Chou-gejimayu!'_ was the collective thought.

"Please forgive me, Gai-sensei!" Lee had seemingly instantly teleported in front of the newcomer and was bowing deeply.

"Lee…"

Lee looked up.

"…You _fool_!"

The fist of his teacher crashed into his cheek and sent him flying back into the wall, exactly where he had first hit it.

"What the fuck?!" Naruto gaped.

Sasuke and Sakura had similar thoughts.

"Gai-sensei…" Lee murmured as he stared up at the man with tears in his eyes.

"Lee…" Gai also began to tear up.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two ran towards each other and embraced as they both cried solemn tears together. None of the three observing genin could tell whether the sunset and waves crashing in the background were genjutsu or not.

"…Sasuke. Sakura. I'm going to create a whole crapload of Kage Bunshin. In the confusion, let's make a run for it," Naruto whispered seriously.

"I apologize for my student's recklessness, pupils of Kakashi."

To say the three were stunned at the abrupt appearance of Gai in front of them was like saying his eyebrows needed a bit of a trim.

_'That…that was even faster than that Lee guy's!'_ Sasuke couldn't keep the shock from showing on his face.

"You…know Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Of course I do, young budding flower of Konoha!" Gai boomed. "He is my eternal rival!"

"Eternal rival?" Naruto regretted asking when the jounin's eyes lit up with passionate flames.

"Yes! I, Maito Gai, currently have a lead of fifty to forty-nine over Hatake Kakashi!" The three looked disbelievingly at him.

_'Fifty to forty-nine?'_

_'This guy beat Kakashi-sensei fifty times?!'_

_'I smell bullshit.'_

"Gai, stop verbally molesting my students." Kakashi was standing on the upper level and looking down at them dryly.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted in surprise. "Where've you—"

"Finally you show your face, Kakashi!" Gai yelled brazenly, effectively drowning out Naruto.

"Wow, someone who can outmatch Naruto in volume," Sasuke mused, ignoring Naruto's scathing glare.

"How can Kakashi-sensei show his face when he wears that damn mask all the time?" Sakura pointed out. Gai hesitated and his mind backtracked a little.

"Obviously, Gai's never been quite right in the head," Kakashi eye-smiled. "So what are you three still doing here? I'm flattered you guys are following my example, but keep it up and you'll be unable to take the Exams."

"Don't disregard me with such a hip attitude, Kakashi!" Gai cried out in outrage and exaggerated despair.

"It is so admirable to see that you are still able to stand against such adversaries, Gai-sensei!" Lee cried to his mentor.

"That's right! Even when Kakashi dishonorably stood me up on our last match, thus allowing me to win by default, I must continue showing that the power of the springtime of youth will always overcome his careless attitude!"

"Oi oi, doesn't 'months-long mission' ring a bell?" Kakashi muttered tiredly.

"Gai-sensei, I did not think it was possible, but my respect for you has doubled, no, quadrupled at least!" Lee exclaimed tearfully before embracing his sensei.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Not this shit again," Naruto groaned. "We gotta get the fuck outta here," he muttered pleadingly.

"Yes, that would be wise," Gai said suddenly. "Hurry along and join your teammates, Lee. You mustn't keep them waiting."

_'That's your own faults!' _was the general thought.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Lee saluted and proceeded to wrap up his hands in his bandages.

Numerous calluses, scars, and scabs didn't escape their notice.

When he was finished, he bowed to Sasuke. "Thank you for the match, Sasuke-san. I look forward to facing off with you again in the Exams…and seeing _you_ again, Sakura-san," he added, blushing slightly.

Sakura just cringed and Lee leapt away towards the designated meeting room.

"Let's get going as well," Kakashi called to his students.

"Wait, Kakashi!" Gai yelled as Team Seven jumped up to where their teacher stood. "I'm not done with you!"

"Hey, Gai, I bet you can't run around Konoha backwards a hundred times before I'm done taking these guys to 301," Kakashi said neutrally. Gai's face darkened and his battle aura filled the room.

"Kakashi…was that a challenge…?" The man did a backflip and landed effortlessly in a handstand. "I accept, and I'll do you better; I will run around Konoha backwards _on my hands_! Prepare to lose for the fifty-first time, my eternal rival!" With triumphant, boisterous laughter, Gai proceeded to accomplish the amazing feat with even more amazing speed; they could've sworn he left a dust trail.

"That's Gai for you," Kakashi sighed. "Don't wanna face him in a fight, don't wanna face him outside of a fight."

"Kakashi-sensei…have you really fought that man before?" Sakura asked slowly as they walked down the halls.

"Mm? Yeah, a few times. I've lost most of them though," he responded lightly, causing them to look at him in disbelief. "Anyway, Sasuke, what were you doing sparring with Gai's student at this time?"

"Hmph," he sniffed. "Just a quick spar."

"I see," Kakashi laughed softly. "That's our Sasuke."

The Uchiha scoffed and averted his gaze to the side.

"But y'know, I feel a little ashamed," Naruto said wistfully. At their confusion, he elaborated, "You guys saw it too, right? That Lee guy's hands?" Recognition dawned on their faces. "To be that good in taijutsu…he must work harder than all three of us combined."

"You have no idea," Kakashi nodded. "That boy excels at taijutsu because it's all he can do. According to Gai, he didn't have the ability to mold chakra properly enough to do ninjutsu or genjutsu, but he wanted to be a shinobi no matter what, so he focused on the one thing he could do." They stopped in front of the double doors leading to room three hundred and one. "That's the kind of people you'll be facing against in these Exams and in the world. Even so, are you all willing to step through these doors?" His students exchanged glances.

"Worried about us, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked teasingly.

"Well, it's a lot of paperwork for me if my cute students get themselves killed in this," he replied cheerfully.

"Wouldn't want that to happen," Sasuke muttered humorlessly.

"Our own sensei has no faith in us," Naruto cried in mock despair. "With such a blow to our morale, we'll surely fail!" he finished with a dramatic flourish of his arms.

"Oh no, I have faith in you guys," Kakashi chuckled at his antics. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have joined the betting pool with the other jounin."

"You're…gambling on us, sensei?" Sakura's mouth was half-gaping.

"What better way to motivate you and show how much I believe in your skills?"

"Motivate us?! You—"

"Sixty percent," Sasuke interrupted her tirade. "Whatever you win because of us, we want sixty percent to share between the three of us."

"Sasuke-kun?!"

"I would've pushed for sixty-six," Naruto muttered.

Kakashi laughed heartily.

"Hai, hai, sixty percent." Their teacher's eyes turned serious. "Fun aside, I won't say anything like 'good luck;' you guys don't need it." His students stood up a little straighter. "You may not pass, but you definitely won't fail," he said cryptically. "If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that you three will bring something very unique to this whole thing, not to mention potentially unfair advantages." Kakashi chuckled and reached out with both hands to pat Naruto and Sasuke on the head and eye-smiled at Sakura. "For here on out, you are no longer Team Seven, but Team Kakashi, and I'm looking forward to seeing you guys show exactly what you can do. Have fun, don't get killed, and don't forget our most important lesson."

"Those who break the rules and codes of the shinobi world are considered trash…" Sakura began.

"…but those who don't take care of their comrades…" Sasuke continued, smiling faintly.

"…are lower than trash!" Naruto finished, grinning brightly.

Kakashi nodded firmly, looked around cautiously, then gazed at Naruto, or rather, his jacket.

"Kitsune," he spoke lowly. Satomi's vulpine head peeked through Naruto's collar. "Keep them safe, but don't interfere excessively."

The fox gave him an annoyed look, but dipped her head slightly and then burrowed back into Naruto's clothes.

Kakashi looked back up to his students one more time as they placed their hands on the doors and recalled words spoken to him over a year ago.

"_The past is past, Kakashi. Those three are the future. If you cannot look past that and embrace what you are running from, how will you be a good teacher to them? How will they survive?"_

For a moment, with their backs turned to him, Kakashi saw three entirely different genin in their place, but as they looked back and smiled at him, he saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura once more.

"We'll be alright, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto promised. "We have you for a teacher after all." And with that, the trio pushed the doors aside and advanced forward, together.

_'Hai, Obito…Rin…Minato-sensei…Hokage-sama…they'll survive. They'll _live_. They're the future of Konoha after all.'_

The doors closed.

* * *

"Talk about pressure," Naruto quipped dryly as they surveyed the room. Well over a hundred other genin with variously marked hitai-ate glared intently at them, and the air was laced with malice and intimidation.

"You guys are late again," Kiba grumbled as he and all of the other former classmates gathered around Team Kakashi.

"Had a pep talk from Kakashi-sensei," Naruto explained and continued to look about the room. "Have we got something on our faces or what?" he joked lightly.

"Apparently, rookies are not very welcome," Shino said, adjusting his glasses.

All but his teammates gave mildly surprised reactions at his thin sarcasm.

"Yeah, just because we're first-timers, we're getting special treatment," Kiba snorted.

"We've walked into something extremely troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.

Across the room, several ninja with music-note sigils on their hitai-ate chuckled darkly.

"He has no idea," one of them with most of his face wrapped in bandages murmured amusedly. "Look, the stupid-looking guy in orange even started to tremble." He paused when the genin in question turned to glance at him sharply.

"Fuck you, I'm not the one who looks like a hunchback that just walked out of a burn ward," Naruto called out, causing many people to blink at him in surprise and confusion. He paid them no heed as he continued, "So unless you wanna end up actually visiting one, either grow a pair and say what you wanna say to my face, or shut the fuck up and wait your turn to get beat to a pulp."

He made a brief, thoughtful face.

"Y'know what, matter of fact, fuck you all. Glaring at us ain't gonna change the fact that we're excited as hell to show you guys just how strong we 'rookies' really are, so suck on that!" Naruto finished with twin displays of the bird.

"Uppity little punk…" the mummified Oto-nin growled as he and his comrades tensed in anger.

"Cute kid," Tenten laughed.

"He is almost as youthful as me," Lee praised.

"He is nothing but a crude fool," Neji sniffed in disdain.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Ino hissed and smacked the fellow blond over the head. "You've made an enemy out of everyone here!"

"They're enemies regardless," Sasuke scoffed, causing Ino to falter. "Besides, Naruto only stated the truth."

"That's it!" another Oto-nin snapped, one with a shirt that had multiple Kanji for "death" on it. "Let's show these tree-hugging weaklings how pathetic they really are!" He shifted into an attacking position, but was halted by spidery fingers clenching his shoulder tightly. "Keep your hands off me, Hiyoshi!" he hissed, whipping around.

"Don't move, Zaku, you imbecile," the albino young man snapped right back. "They're prepared for retaliation. We must wait for a more opportune time to strike. We have already been presented with a good discovery: that boy's hearing is almost as good as ours." He adjusted the lavender-clothed object on his back.

"Who the fuck made you leader of this thing?" Zaku spat vehemently.

"Shut up already, Zaku," one of the females scoffed, flipping her long maroon hair haughtily.

"Why you little bitch—"

"Settle down, you cocky brats!" a baritone voice sounded out before a large cloud of smoke shrouded the front of the room.

When it settled, over a score of chuunin led by an intimidating, gruff-looking jounin in a black coat was revealed.

"From here on out, any unauthorized fighting will result in immediate expulsion from the Exams!"

He glared steadily around the room and gave a satisfied smirk when over half the occupants shivered.

"Welcome to the Chuunin Exams! I am the first examiner, Morino Ibiki, and we're going to begin right now. Everyone come up to these three boxes," he gestured to three large containers, each with a hole on top, "one team at a time. Draw a number and sit in the corresponding seat. If you take too long, I'll get impatient and fail you, so move it!" he barked.

The genin all scrambled to follow his orders and several hectic minutes later, they were all seated and waiting intently.

_'Separated from Sasuke and Sakura.'_ Naruto glanced around and spotted his teammates in different places. _'I'm getting such a bad feeling about this…'_

"Na-Naruto-kun!" The blond's head tilted up at the hushed utterance to see Hinata's flushed and taken aback face.

"Oh wow, yo, Hinata! Lucky for us we're sitting together, huh?"

"Y-yes…very lucky i-indeed…"

_'It's just sitting next to him. Stop acting like this. There's no reason to be nervous. It's just sitting…next to him.'_

She took a deep breath and sat down.

"Good luck to us, whatever the hell it is, ne?" he murmured good-naturedly, leaning closer to her.

"Y-yes!" she practically squeaked at the proximity. She swallowed and pressed on, "I believe…I'm sure Naruto-kun will do j-just fine!"

Ibiki interrupted any further conversation between the two.

"Now stay quiet as I explain how this first part of the Exams is going to work." He surveyed the enraptured crowd as the chuunin began settling down on the sides of the room. "The first part of the Chuunin Exams…will be a written test."

A loud, cracking sound rang out, causing many to jump and all to look sharply at Naruto's direction; he had dug his fingers into the wooden table and there was a comical visage of pure panic on his face. The corners of Ibiki's mouth twitched minutely as Naruto mouthed "Sorry" at him and freed his digits with a sheepish demeanor.

"If it happens again, you and your team are outta here," Ibiki warned.

_'Damn dobe,'_ Sasuke mentally groaned. _'I've got such a bad feeling about this…'_

_'Oh, Naruto…'_ Sakura sighed inwardly.

"As I was saying," Ibiki continued, "you will have forty-five minutes to complete nine questions, and in the last fifteen minutes, I will give a final tenth question." The genin were all puzzled but remained silent. "Now for the rules. Each person starts out with ten points. For every question you get wrong, you will lose one point. Of course, cheating is not tolerated; each time you are caught cheating, you will be marked down two points." Their puzzlement amplified, but for some people, gears began turning in their heads. "In the end, this is a team effort, and depending on how many points the team ends up with will determine if they pass or fail."

_'Oh, thank fuck,'_ Naruto breathed out in relief. _'Sorry, Sasuke, Sakura, I'll have to rely on you guys for this part.'_

_'Don't worry, Naruto,'_ Sakura thought determinedly. _'We'll take care of it.'_

_'You're gonna owe us big time, Naruto,'_ Sasuke smirked to himself, briefly thinking of an upscale restaurant in the Northern District.

"However," Ibiki thoroughly enjoyed the hesitation that tainted their hopeful faces, "because this is a team effort, if just one member reaches zero points, the whole team will fail."

"What the fuck?!" a Konoha shinobi exclaimed from beside Naruto before he could. "That's complete bull—"

"Take your teammates and get out," Ibiki commanded calmly. "If you can't even follow the simple order to stay silent, you don't belong here."

"Wha…but…but we're of Konoha too!" the genin protested.

"And you think that fact is going to convince me to be merciful and partial to you? You dare to call yourself a shinobi?" the examiner sneered. "People like you disgust me. Leave."

Two people stood up and left the room with a quiet fury and the standing genin followed reluctantly.

As the doors closed, Ibiki asked, "Would anyone else like to whine or can I start passing these out?" Obedient silence answered him and papers began to be distributed throughout the room. "Keep them facedown."

_'I can do this,'_ Naruto steeled himself. _'I just need to get at least one right. Just one. I can do this, goddammit!"_

"I expect you all to behave like worthy ninja on this test," Ibiki smiled darkly. "Good luck. You may flip the papers over and begin."

The crisp sounds of shuffling paper filled the air and the genin inspected their questions. After several minutes, there were some scribbling and tapping sounds as a few began to answer, but the general consensus matched Naruto's.

_'Oh fuck, I'm boned.'_

_'I can't answer any of these!'_ Sasuke's eye twitched. _'What the hell is going on here?'_

_'I didn't think the questions would be this hard,'_ Sakura grimaced. _'Even I'm having some trouble with it. I can't imagine how Naruto can get through it. I don't even think Sasuke-kun knows this material! Shannaro…'_

_'There's gotta be something I can do,'_ Naruto thought desperately. _'Am I missing something here?'_

'_These can't be answered by typical genin, and our team isn't even typical.'_ Sasuke took a second to check on his teammates quickly. _'As expected, Naruto's having trouble and Sakura looks like she's having none.'_

A very brief smile flashed on his face and went unnoticed by anyone else.

_'Okay…so if a normal genin can't answer these…then what's underneath the underneath?'_

He gripped his pencil tighter and glanced to the side.

_'Tch. All those chuunin are watching us so intently like they're daring us to…that's it!'_

Sasuke mentally slapped himself for not seeing it earlier.

_'Yes…everything makes sense if we're required to cheat; it's a test of information gathering skills!'_

He looked around once again as more and more people began to reach the same conclusion.

_'Dammit, I can't risk whispering to him in such a quiet atmosphere. Naruto, you'd better catch on!'_ he hoped and activated his Sharingan.

_'Ah!'_ Naruto's eyes widened. _'I think I get it!'_ He picked up the paper and stared at it closely. _'I get it! I get why these questions are so complicated! It all makes sense now! I just have to sound intelligent as well!'_

He lifted his pencil and began to write, catching the attention of Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura, who all smiled.

_'Look out, Chuunin Exams, here comes Uzumaki Naruto!'_

_"Question One: Decipher the following cryptogram._

_PBRRVMZ RZBDPMG GLZZRRG HLFSMMV FPHLLTR MZZFHZI VNTHZMF"_

Naruto wrote: _"This cannot be a valid code. If it were, then rival ninja would be able to use it against each other in the future."_

_"Question Two: Shinobi A leapt up from a point twenty-seven meters and forty-two degrees below the eastern axis at a height of eleven meters and struck Shinobi B in the head with a projectile. Shinobi B, at the time of impact, had been at a point of thirteen meters and seventeen degrees above the western axis and fourteen meters above the ground. Assuming there was no air resistance or hindrance of any sort, what was the force required and amount of distance to be covered for Shinobi A to eliminate Shinobi B? Show your work."_

To that, he wrote: _"With all due respect, what the hell does it matter? Shinobi B has already been killed."_

"Number twenty-two, fail. Numbers eighty-one and sixty-seven, leave as well," a chuunin called out.

"Numbers one-oh-three, nineteen, and thirty, please leave the room," another one commanded.

"Forty-four, that's five times. Get out of here, along with numbers twenty-nine and fifty-two."

More and more genin began to be eliminated, but Naruto just smiled. _'Hah, I don't even need to cheat. Ah well, too bad for those guys.'_ He resumed his test.

_"Question Three: You and a team of five must infiltrate a concrete building of eight stories high, thirty-six meters long and forty-two meters wide. There are twelve reinforced windows on each floor except the first, as well as a flat roof, a back entrance, and a spacious basement. Intel indicates there are an unknown number of guards and your target is on the fifth floor somewhere. Determine the best course of action and explain your reasoning."_

_"Storm the building through the front door. It's the least expected action for a ninja,"_ Naruto wrote down.

And so, for the remaining minutes until the mysterious tenth question, the vast majority of the genin did their best to obtain the correct answers for the test, utilizing a wide repertoire of skills, from Kekkei Genkai and various ninjutsu to puppetry and simple tools like string and mirrors. Despite their efforts, however, there was a steady trickle of genin forced to retire from this year's Exam, due to the intense scrutiny of the numerous chuunin.

Through it all, the members of Team Kakashi each worked diligently in their own way; Sakura was the first to finish and Sasuke followed closely behind. Naruto, blissfully unaware, eventually also filled out his exam paper, though he did hesitate at Question Six, where it asked what a cornered kunoichi with low chakra and limited equipment should do against an enemy shinobi.

Naruto's initial instinct had been to write: _"The kunoichi should make use of her natural assets and lower the guard of the shinobi using seductive charms."_ However, after much consideration, he decided against it.

"Damn your influence, Satomi," he had muttered very, very quietly and grimaced when the fox in his jacket responded with a bite to his chest.

Finally, forty-five minutes had passed.

"Everyone put down your pencils!" Ibiki shouted, causing nearly all of them to jump. He spotted a desperate genin trying to scribble down one last sentence. "You there," he pointed at the quivering ninja, "is it so hard to listen? Take your teammates and leave my room."

"Goddammit, Takumi!" a kunoichi snarled and slammed her palm on her desk before storming out with another genin. The one called Takumi ran off after them, looking ready to cry.

Ibiki harrumphed and shook his head.

"We will now begin the tenth question," he announced. "Pay attention since there are additional rules for this one."

_'More rules?'_ Sakura bit her lip.

"First of all, you can choose whether or not to take this last question." At their disbelieving gazes, Ibiki smiled sadistically and continued, "If you choose not to take it, your points will automatically be reduced to zero and your entire team will fail." Cries of outrage saturated the air.

"Well then, of course we're going to take it!" Ino shouted.

"That's right!" a Kusa-nin agreed.

"What the hell kinda rule is that?! No one here wants to fail, after all!" someone from Amegakure scoffed.

"Shut up, you worthless bastards, and let me finish!" Ibiki roared, invoking immediate silence. "Secondly, if you choose to attempt this question and get it wrong, your progress ends here permanently; you will remain a genin until the end of your days!"

This time, there was a stunned atmosphere before outbursts filled the room.

"A genin forever?! What the hell?!"

"That's…that's too messed up!"

"Wait a minute!" Kiba shouted. "There are genin here who've taken the Exam before! Threatening to keep us as genin doesn't make sense; you're just bluffing!" He faltered when Ibiki started to laugh with black amusement.

"How unlucky for you kids that you're saddled with me this year," he smirked. "This year, _I_ make the rules."

"But…but how will the other villages listen to some Konoha-nin like you?! Genin forever, my ass!" a kunoichi from Kumogakure spat.

"Oh they'll listen and they'll agree," Ibiki smiled. "The tenth question is essential to the life of a ninja." The protests died away and all the genin in the room were fraught with uncertainty. "So, raise your hands if you don't want to take this question."

Everyone looked around and at each other until…

"I…I won't take it!" a Konoha genin in glasses beside Sasuke cried and raised his shaking hand. "Gennai…Inoho…I'm sorry…"

"Number fifty, fail! Numbers one hundred thirty and one eleven, also fail!" a chuunin called out.

"I won't take it either!" the Ame-nin from earlier shouted, raising his hand.

"Same here!"

"Me too!"

"No freakin' way I'll risk it, man!"

Like dominoes, the genin fell one after the other, choking under the pressure of doubt and the room became less and less occupied.

_'What a choice,'_ Sakura thought, swallowing hard. _'Either risk failing or risk your future. I'm confident Sasuke-kun and I can get it right, but I'm not so sure about Naruto.'_ She felt bad thinking so, but they had all acknowledged that he was the weakest in terms of intelligence in their team.

_'It didn't seem like he was doing badly with the first nine though,'_ Sasuke deliberated. _'But if he gets this one wrong, he'll be a genin forever. Sakura and I would pass, but Naruto…'_ He noticed the tension in the blond's body.

_'He'd get left behind.'_ Sakura bit her lip.

She thought about when she'd first met him and how stupid she thought he was with his childish antics and attention-craving behavior. She recalled the day of when they first became a team and how he announced that his dream was to become Hokage. She had watched as that dream wandered to the edge of ambiguity and thought about how Naruto continued to struggle with it.

_'His potential dreams, whatever they may end up as, would be limited.'_

Sasuke's reflections were similar and he began to think of his own situation. Images flew across his mind, from carefree days in the past to the defining tragedy of his life, from an almost empty life on a narrow path to a broader horizon with people around him, from the inevitable meeting with his brother to the future beyond it.

_'I will become strong. I will become great in my own right.'_

He envisioned moments their team went through together, his rivalry with Naruto, his interactions with Sakura, the paradox that was their sensei, even the recent misadventures they shared wandering around the continent.

_'But…I also…'_

They both made their considerations, paying no attention that genin around them were disappearing. They weighed the situation from multiple angles, and then, they arrived at the same thought at the same time.

_'I don't want these bonds to disappear.'_

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other across the room, smiled wryly at each other, and both began to raise their hands.

"Don't even think about it, you two."

Naruto's voice halted their arms' ascents and captured the attention of the room.

"I have no doubt that you'll both pass, so don't let me drag you down." He turned around and gazed at them with his trademark grin. "Besides, have a little more faith in me than that. I'm not great at this shit, but I'll do my best, no matter how it turns out." He rotated his body again to face Ibiki. "So what if I get it wrong and end up a genin forever? I'll still find a way to keep the things I find important around me. I'll still end up reaching a dream to hold onto and make me happy. If I want to be Hokage, I'll just become the first genin to do so. If I just want strength and acknowledgement, I'll do it as a genin. If I want something else, being a genin won't keep me from it."

"You talk big, kid," Ibiki stared at him steadily. "You won't be able to turn back."

"I won't turn back," Naruto declared, matching the examiner's gaze." I won't take my words back. I'll continue to move forward and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me because that's my way of life."

_'Naruto-kun…'_ Hinata stared up at him in awe and admiration and her heart soared.

Even their classmates and many of the genin still in the room felt grudging respect for the loud teen and his powerful determination.

"Sasuke, Sakura," Naruto continued. "Either we'll pass together as a team or I'll help you advance in the world. Those are the only two choices I see."

_'Typical dobe,'_ Sasuke smirked and crossed his arms. "Aa. Quit trying to act cool already."

_'Naruto, you baka,'_ Sakura grinned, moved by his words. "We're counting on you then, Naruto."

_'This kid,'_ Ibiki inspected the genin once more, _'completely blew away their fears.'_ He did a quick count.

_'Twenty-two teams. Anko's going to be pissy. Well, I can't milk this anymore.'_

"Then to all those who remain…I congratulate you on passing the first part of the Chuunin Exams!"

One could hear the proverbial pin drop.

"…Hah?" Naruto voiced.

"We…we pass? But what about the tenth question?!" Kiba asked in a bewildered tone.

"That was the tenth question," Ibiki grinned widely, exhibiting a complete personality change. "It was a do-or-die situation, the main point of this first part of the Exam. Consider it this way: you're in command of a team and given a mission with an unknown number of enemy ninja in an unknown region. You have no idea whatsoever of the enemies' abilities and there's no chance of reinforcements. Because you don't want to die or because you don't want your comrades to die, should you avoid the mission?" He paused for effect. "The answer is _no_. Just because there are certainties and dangers in life, there are missions that cannot be avoided."

"But then what was the point of the previous nine questions?!" Temari demanded.

"As many of you came to realize, those questions were too difficult for a normal genin to answer; they required a vast amount of experience and knowledge. To help out, we planted two chuunin who knew the answers amongst you; it was a test to see how well you could obtain information," Ibiki explained. "After all," he undid the bandanna on his head, "sometimes information is more important than life."

Ibiki's bald head was revealed, along with a history of torture and interrogation: ghastly scars, burns, and screw holes riddled the man's cranium, capturing the amazement and horror of many of the genin.

Naruto had frozen, not just because of the grisly vision, but also because of his recent enlightenment. _'Does it mean…we were _supposed_ to cheat instead?!'_ He managed to restrain himself from screaming in frustration but resolved to smack himself later when no one was looking.

"A chuunin captain is expected to have the courage and determination to advance and survive through any hardship," Ibiki said, putting his bandanna back on. "But those who can't handle the reality, who cling onto the hope that 'there's always another time' don't deserve to be chuunin. That's how I feel. You guys have passed my test with flying colors and with that, I wish you all luck on the next—"

The windows on the side of the classroom crashed open and a few chuunin ducked for cover while several others, along with some genin, tensed for a potential attack. A large, black bundle of cloth had spun into the room and unraveled as two kunai were launched at the top corners towards the ceiling, revealing a woman wearing primarily mesh, a skirt, and a tan trench coat. The cloth read: _"Chuunin Exam Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko, has arrived!"_

"This is no time to be celebrating!" the sultry-looking kunoichi shouted loudly. "Mitarashi Anko, the examiner for the second part, is here, so let's go! Follow me!" she raised a fist into the air.

"Bad timing," Ibiki murmured to her after a few moments of everyone just staring at her. Her eye twitched and she flushed slightly.

"Wha…what the hell?!" Naruto yelled in indignation.

_'Surprising to see Naruto like that; this woman acts like him,'_ Sakura thought dryly.

"If you're gonna make an entrance like that, at least spice it up a bit more!" he continued.

Sakura's head slammed onto her desk and Sasuke was hard-pressed not to do the same.

"Spice it up?" Anko gaped at him.

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded exuberantly. "Maybe throw a smoke bomb or two as you roll in, or toss a couple of firecrackers for additional surprise! And that sign's a bit mediocre; white against black is noticeable, yeah, but it's too overused. Either pick some different colors or decorate the damn thing a bit. Other than that, great first impression!" He gave a thumbs-up.

_'I'm in hell,'_ Sasuke groaned in his head. _'My teammate is a carefree idiot with multiple personalities and an infectious lifestyle.'_

"Heh. I like you, kid," Anko grinned. "I'll keep that crap in mind."

She turned serious and surveyed her audience.

"Sixty-six genin…Ibiki, you let over twenty teams pass?!" she snapped with annoyance.

"There were some outstanding genin this year," he replied calmly, looking straight at Naruto, who grinned happily.

"Is that so?" Anko mused, following his line of sight. "Well, too bad for them, since I'm going to cut their numbers down by at least half," she promised, licking her lips in anticipation. "Everyone, follow me down to the training grounds in the northwest!"

_'At least half?'_ Sakura grimaced as she and everyone else got up to walk out of the room. _'What could it be?'_

* * *

Later, when the room had emptied, Ibiki stayed behind to clean up the test papers. When he reached Naruto's seat, he paused to look at his paper.

_'Uzumaki Naruto, huh? Ah, _that_ kid…'_ Ibiki froze as his eyes scanned the answers. _'This…this is…'_ A smile played on his lips and not before long, a barking laugh escaped his mouth. The answers Naruto gave were anything but correct, and yet, they held simple, quirky truths in them.

_'Yondaime, Kushina-san…you two have an interesting boy.'_

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

ofuda - a holy talisman of paper, cloth, wood, or metal; also known as _gofu_ or _shinpu_

kabuki - Japanese dance-drama

gejimayu - fuzzy eyebrows

chou-gejimayu - super fuzzy eyebrows

Suna - sand

Ame - rain

Kumo - cloud

Kusa - grass

Oto - sound

Injamura - literally "recluse town" (just thrown in as a whim; don't expect to see it again)

Konoha Shoufuu - Leaf Rising Wind

Konoha Kage Buyou - Leaf Shadow Dance

* * *

**Author's Note:** I really liked Kishimoto's Chuunin Exam, especially the first portion. It combines subterfuge, intelligence, and careful planning, all under the guise of a simple written test. It's subtle and expected of shinobi in a series that otherwise flashily screams of shounen elements.

The second part of the Exam is where my fic will deviate much more noticeably. I'm not looking forward to the third part; fight scenes are notoriously difficult for me.

There is an easter egg in this chapter. Naruto was actually very wrong with the first question. It is, in fact, a valid cryptogram, and I invite anyone interested in cryptology to figure it out. It offers a glimpse of some minor details I have planned for Team Seven.

* * *

**Omake: Moon Prism Power, Make...Up?  
**

"What to do with you two?" Kankuro mused thoughtfully, unconcerned at the group of genin. Konohamaru continued to squirm in one of his hands while the other was flexed. "Maybe I'll rip your dog's limbs off." Kiba paled slightly and redoubled his efforts to fight against whatever was keeping his legs from moving.

Two dull thwaps suddenly sounded out, and Kankuro instinctively flinched and pulled his throbbing right wrist and left palm closer to his body. Konohamaru fell to the ground and he immediately scrambled away while Temari got ready to draw her fan and all the other genin tensed.

"The cries of the innocent fill the air!" a female voice shouted.

"The shadow of evil threatens the peace of the world!" another joined in.

"We are the warriors of love and justice who will stand against this terrible plight!" a third chimed in.

They all looked up at the four individuals standing on a tree; three females were wearing serafuku while one male wore a black tuxedo and wielded a rose.

"In the name of the moon…" Naruko exclaimed.

"We will punish you!" Satomi and Sakura chorused with her.

Beside them, Sasuke's eye twitched at an abnormal speed.

Everyone gaped at the spectacle in disbelief and they were only able to process one thought.

'…_Oh, _wow_.'_

Even Gaara, who still remained hidden, wanted to encase himself in his absolute defense of sand and never come back out.


	16. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the intellectual property of Kishimoto Masashi and his affiliates. Any outside references you may recognize also belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Welcome to Training Ground Forty-Four, also known as the Forest of Death," she heard a woman say forebodingly. "This is where you guys will be going into for the second test of the Exams."

"Awesome. We get to go in here again," Naruto murmured unenthusiastically.

"Again?" Anko heard him and repeated.

"Oh yeah," Naruto nodded. "We had a mission in here once to get onigumo silk." He suddenly smiled. "Well, since we're gonna be in here, maybe I'll find a chance for some revenge."

'_And in the meantime, everyone now knows you have a terrain advantage,'_ Satomi sighed mentally and debated whether or not she should bite him again.

"Hah," Anko laughed. "You _are_ interesting. So how do you think you'd all fare three days in there?" The chuunin hopefuls began murmuring amongst themselves. "That's right, three days. Now shut up and pay attention." She opened one side of her coat, allowing many of those present to either realize or confirm that she was, in fact, wearing just mesh, at least on her upper body. After a brief mixture of enraptured and uncomfortable silence, several genin began to suddenly cry out in surprised pain. "I told you guys to pay attention," Anko chided in a singsong voice and pointed to the ground.

A dozen snakes were slithering silently through the grass, biting unsuspecting people here and there. Even Naruto looked down just in time to see a serpent sink its fangs into his leg. He flinched and Sasuke and Sakura reacted immediately, sending shuriken into the reptile's head. The other genin followed and soon, all the snakes were dead.

"Aww, my poor babies," Anko pouted.

"You crazy bitch!" someone shouted out before he and the others who were bitten wobbled and lost their balances. "Wh-what the fuck…?"

"Looks like you unlucky bunch get to start off handicapped," their examiner said cheerfully. "Ah, but you can relax; this particular venom won't kill ya. You'll just be a bit sluggish for a day."

'_Even we got caught unawares,'_ Sasuke frowned as he surveyed the afflicted genin and the unconcerned Anko. _'A bit sluggish, my ass. Most of them can't even stand up! Gods, this woman acts like Naruto _and_ Satomi,'_ he thought rather spontaneously before he and Sakura both reached out to hold Naruto steady when he began to sway on his feet.

"Are you going to be alright, Naruto?" Sakura asked, her concern overriding her reason. _'That healing factor better kick in; I'm not advanced enough to extract poisons, shannaro.'_

"Yeah, just gimme a sec," he said a little roughly. "I suppose we deserved that one. Clever, but definitely a crazy bitch," he chuckled and breathed in deeply.

"Shucks, you kids are making me blush," Anko quipped and grinned.

"Well, too bad," Naruto nodded his thanks to his teammates and took a steady step forward without any aid, "that something like that won't work on me."

'_And _now_, everyone knows toxins are ineffective against you.' _It was times such as this one where Satomi found herself wishing she still had a mental connection to Naruto. She made a note to herself to hit him when she got the chance later.

"Hou?" Anko masked her slight surprise and launched a kunai towards Naruto's face without warning, but the blond remained unfazed as the blade grazed his face and sliced his flesh.

Sasuke caught it midair and, without hesitation, sent it straight back to its owner.

"_Very_ interesting bunch indeed," Anko smiled in a pleased manner after she caught the weapon and brought it to her mouth to lick the blood off. To her pleasant surprise, it tingled on her tongue like a spice.

Naruto's response was to wipe the blood off his cheek with his forefinger and do the same.

_'Poison neutralization and the wound looks like it's already closing,'_ she noted. _'So this is our famous Kyuubi kid.'_

"Can you two continue this courtship sometime after the Exam?" Sasuke asked with a tone of annoyance and exasperation.

Naruto turned towards him sharply with a horrified expression while Anko laughed.

"Hai, hai, let's get down to business."

She produced two scrolls in her hands. One was white and bore the Kanji for 'heaven' while the other was black and had the Kanji for 'earth.'

"Each team is going to get one of these two scrolls from over there," she gestured to a booth with curtains near one of the training area's gates. "Your job is to locate a team with the opposite scroll, obtain it by any means necessary, and then make your way to the tower in the center of the forest."

"Any means necessary?" Sakura questioned. "So that means that…"

"Yep!" Anko's face practically shone with glee. "From here on out, killing your opponent is allowed!"

A heavy air descended upon the crowd of genin. Some shifted their gazes nervously, some remained calm and uncaring, and some began to smile in black anticipation.

"Oh, by the way, until you enter the tower, you cannot, for any reason, open either of the scrolls. Not only will this be a test of survival and espionage, but also a test of trust," she said seriously. "Sometimes, you will be asked to handle delicate and dangerous information. You must demonstrate that you can show sound judgment based on the circumstances given to you. Failure to comply with this rule will result in immediate and explosive expulsion from the Exams," she smiled menacingly. "And trust me, we _will_ know if you don't listen. So, that's basically it; in a nutshell, get the other scroll and reach the tower within seventy-two hours of entering the forest with your entire team intact and alive, and no peeking in the scrolls. If you can't clear any one of these conditions, your entire team will fail."

"Um…Anko-sama?" a chuunin called from the booth and waved a piece of paper in the air, causing Anko to laugh sheepishly at the sight of it.

"Oh right, right! I almost forgot the most important thing of all! In order for a team to get a scroll, all three of you must sign and turn in a waiver that states that we will not be held responsible if you get killed in here, that you accept full responsibility for your actions, blah blah blah, all that good stuff. I don't need more people after my head," she winked. "I'll give you guys an hour to get all set up."

"An hour? That long?" Naruto asked with impatience.

"Well, yeah," she shrugged as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm hungry, so I'm going to go get some dango. See you guys in an hour!" Everyone just stared at her as she strolled off, humming some tune without a care in the world, much less about the fact that dozens of genin were glaring at her retreating back.

* * *

"So what's the plan gonna be?" Naruto asked as they leapt from tree to tree.

"What do you think, Sakura?" Sasuke looked over to the brains of the team.

"We already have the advantage of having been in this place before, so we know where to avoid. We started in one of the northern gates, so I was thinking of finding the river and following it."

"Why the river?" Naruto questioned.

"Water's a necessity, Naruto," Sakura explained patiently. "Not to mention it leads to the tower. Most, if not all, the other ninja will make it a top priority. We'll travel at a slow pace along the river and see if we have an opportunity to catch a team unawares. If not, we'll set up a base a fair distance from the tower and strike out from there. Also, to throw them off, can you handle making a dozen Kage Bunshin?"

"Aa, I get what you're saying. Alright!" He landed on a branch of one of the more gargantuous trees and made a cross seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Sasuke and Sakura watched from the next tree over as twelve copies of Naruto appeared. "Alright, guys, you heard the lady! Let's fuck with some heads!"

There was a roar of agreement, to which his teammates gave exasperated looks, and eight of the clones cried out, "**Henge!**" Four additional sets of Team Kakashi appraised each other before displaying an assortment of grins, smirks, and smiles, and they shot off in different directions.

"Stamina freak." There was still envy in Sasuke's tone, but they all knew that if the clones all dispelled at once later, Naruto would be out of commission for at least a few hours.

"Oh get over it, copycat-sama."

"Say that again."

"Eh?"

"The '-sama' part," Sasuke clarified. "Nice of you to know your place."

"You sonuva—"

"You two do realize Sakura can't pass when her teammates knock each other out, right?" They looked towards the source of the somewhat muffled and guttural voice, and Satomi's red-orange fox head popped out of the collar of Naruto's jacket. "…What?"

"You can talk in that form?" Sakura asked in amazement.

"Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Since when?" Naruto demanded. Satomi rolled her eyes.

"So animals like Kakashi's ninken can talk, but not someone like me? It just took me awhile to learn how to make human sounds with these vocal cords."

"Ah…" Naruto faltered. "But you've never—"

"I'm usually lying low in this form; if a fox started talking, people would ask. In any case, you forgot to mention something important." They glanced at her curiously. "Take the utmost caution around that Gaara boy," she warned.

"Why?" Sasuke in particular was interested to know what could cause someone like Satomi to stress concern over.

"He's like me," Naruto said softly.

"A jinchuuriki, a container of one of us nine," Satomi continued. "Absolutely pointless to say something like, 'Whatever you do, avoid that guy,' since Sasuke-chan over there's starting to grin like an idiot we all know."

Naruto gave a sound of protest and the eager smile that was forming on Sasuke's lips faded.

"I've told you not to call me that," he snapped.

"And I've told you to give it time. It'll grow on you," Satomi said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, don't get in over your heads. I don't know how powerful Gaara is, or even the Ichibi, for that matter."

"You haven't fought it before?" Sakura asked.

"No. Honestly, I don't even know how I'd fare against him because of our respective situations. Plus, it's not like I've had a chance to gauge just how strong _I_ am." Her ears flickered and she glanced around cautiously. "Let's keep moving. There's something in this forest that's bothering me."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," Satomi replied shortly.

Team Kakashi looked at each other in bewilderment before leaping off and continuing with the task at hand.

* * *

"So the tower first?" a Kiri-nin was saying to his teammates.

"Yeah," one of them replied. "We'll secure the area and set up bigass traps everywhere. Give it a couple of days and there's bound to be teams weak enough and stupid enough to fall prey to one. Odds are good that we'll be able to get our hands on an Earth scroll without much effort."

"We can always finish off anyone who's still lingering on, right?" the third one grinned.

"Of course," the leader laughed. "I'd bet a set of my good kunai that the first team to get caught is a Konoha one, ne?" The other two laughed along with him, but one stopped short when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, hey guys, look over there." They stopped and glanced towards where he was pointing. "Looks like something went down already."

"Yeah, so? Sucks to be them."

"Yeah, but…I could swear that's a scroll on the ground."

"Hah? Are you sure you ain't just seeing things, Kenta?"

"Well, a closer look can't hurt," the leader decided. "Just stay on your guard; it smells like a trap."

"Aa, I know I know," his teammate said before running over to the sighted area. It was a small but thick clearing and there were numerous signs of a battle: cuts marked the surrounding trees, kunai and shuriken were strewn all over the place, and there were even a few scorch marks on the ground. Near the edge of the clearing, there was an Earth scroll with some blood spots on it and a dirtied Konoha hitai-ate.

"Well, waddya know," one of them whistled. "Our lucky day; probably some idiot Konoha-nin got ambushed and got away in too much of a hurry."

"Still, why would their attackers leave the scroll behind?" the leader mused moving a bit closer with caution.

"Who knows?" shrugged the one who saw their newfound opportunity. "Maybe they didn't need it. Takumo's right; we got through this part without any effort at all," he guffawed, looking over at his teammate, who laughed along with him. Both stopped when their comrade wobbled and looked slightly dazed. "Oi, what's up, Takumo?"

"Aa…no, I was just thinking," he started slowly, "if those Konoha-nin were idiots, what does this make you?"

"Huh?" was the intelligent response before Kenta received a powerful punch to the face, courtesy of his friend, Takumo. He let out a grunt of pain, fell back, and rolled a little on the forest floor. Spitting out some blood and a tooth, he shouted, "What the fuck, Takumo, you traitorous bastard! Kazu, get him!"

"I…I can't!" the one called Kazu said fearfully. "I can't control my body!" Kazu began to move towards Kenta, drawing a kunai. "K-Kenta, run!" Takumo also took out his weapon and the pair crept closer to the now-shaking boy.

"O-oi! Guys, snap out of it! Hey, this ain't funny, you hear me?! Snap out of—" An enormous fist descended on his head, silencing him and ending his fears. Kazu watched in horror as the fist moved to hover over his head, and he could not do a single thing except let out a choked scream as it fell on his head and sent him into oblivion.

"Easy," Takumo grinned. "Now, which one of these morons has the scroll…? Shika, come help me find it!"

"Troublesome woman," sighed Shikamaru as he stepped out from the foliage.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care if you came up with this plan, just move your lazy ass and find the damn thing," 'Takumo' snapped. "It's not on this guy."

"Found it!" Chouji happily waved a Heaven scroll while crouching near the unconscious Kenta.

"Oi, Chouji, is my body safe?" 'Takumo' frowned.

"Yeah, it's right behind this tree over here."

"Good, good. Now then, Shikamaru, tie me up."

"Hah? I always knew you had some weird hobbies…"

It was a little odd seeing a male Kiri-nin blush and fidget with indignation.

"Sh-Shikamaru, you pervert! I mean, tie this guy up! Hurry up already; I want to get back into my own body!"

"Hai, hai," smiled the pineapple-haired genius before moving over to do so.

A few moments later, Takumo was tied up securely against a tree with his weapons pouch a fair distance away and a cloth over his eyes so he wouldn't be able to see the culprits. The ropes were loose enough for his hands to clasp together and he muttered, "**Kai.**"

Ino's eyes snapped open just as the Kiri-nin shook off his disorientation and saw nothing but black, and he began cursing and shouting for his teammates. Team Asuma looked at each other and gave various smiles before they leapt off towards the tower.

* * *

A sudden rustling noise had Sasuke whipping around and launching a kunai upwards towards a figure on a tree branch while Sakura prepared hand seals. They both hesitated and maintained wariness, watching as Naruto held up his hand and wince as the weapon sank into his palm.

"Relax, guys. It's just me." He pulled out the kunai and showed them how the wound slowly began to regenerate. "See?"

"How do we know for sure?" Sasuke replied, relaxing minutely, but still guarded. "What's the codeword?"

"Err…" Naruto scratched his head with the handle. "I forgot…something about loud enemies and the right time…damn bastard and your weird-ass song. Oi, Satomi, how bout some help?" he groused at his jacket.

"No need," Sasuke said coolly as Sakura released the chakra she was molding. "That's definitely you."

"Eh?" Naruto jumped down and jogged towards his teammates. "What the hell? I just said I forgot the damn thing."

"Exactly." The raven-haired teen continued to note various places to set traps, dismissing Naruto.

When Sakura snickered as his confusion, Naruto realized what he meant.

"Goddammit teme, I ain't stupid. It was a long freakin' codeword!" he grumbled, throwing the kunai back.

Without looking, Sasuke caught it over his shoulder. "I had absolute faith in you," he deadpanned.

"That I would forget!"

"Doesn't change that fact that I had faith in you, and you didn't let me down. Good dobe." He tilted his head and let a shuriken fly by. "You should really conserve your ammo."

"Bite me, you dick."

Sakura sighed in exasperation and shook her head as she refilled their canteens from the river and purified the water using chakra. "So we're clear, Naruto?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "We didn't pick up anyone within two hundred meters of here. We're good."

"Alright," Sasuke spoke. "You wanna take care of the traps?"

The blond rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Just show me where."

"Sakura?"

"On it, Sasuke-kun."

The boys nodded at her and proceeded to fortify their little base. She, in turn, began to draw up almost all of her chakra. It would leave her severely drained for a day, but they had decided it was a calculated risk; she was the only one of them who could perform the technique properly, even if it produced pitiable results.

Sakura formed five seals, bit her thumb, and slammed her palm down onto the ground.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**"

When the smoke cleared, there was a gray rabbit the size of a ramen bowl (_'dammit, Naruto'_) in front of her wearing a red military jacket and a small dirk.

"Ah, Sakura-dono, our newest summoner!" he bowed, ears to the ground. "I am Kiroku, thirty-second son of Azuki. How may I assist you?"

"Pleased to meet you, Kiroku-san," Sakura replied politely, surprised she had summoned one of the rabbit matriarch's children. _'_Thirty-second_ son?'_

"I need you to do some scouting for us," she said aloud.

"Gladly, milady."

"I need you to find teams in this forest that have a scroll like this," she took out their Heaven scroll from inside her shirt, "but black with 'Earth' on it. They'll be hiding it, but if you do see it, memorize what the teams look like, then come back and inform us."

"Understood."

"Be careful, Kiroku-san. This forest is filled with dangerous predators and ninja who are ready to kill."

"Thank you for your concern, Sakura-dono. I will be cautious."

With that, the woodland summon shot into the bushes and through the dark forest.

"Any particular reason why these will herd them in that direction?" she heard Sasuke note.

"I saw a nest of leeches up over there," Naruto answered. "Give me a hand with this tripwire, will ya?"

"The third one or the fourth?"

"Fourth; third's a dud, but whatever you do, don't even _breathe_ on the fifth one."

"What fif—oh."

"Yeah. Got an anti-sticking tag or three?"

"You'll owe me; those weren't cheap."

"Yeah yeah, I'll buy you lunch again, you stingy bastard."

"Some Kobe beef maybe."

"They can't have been that expensive!"

"You want the tags or not?"

Naruto just swore under his breath and nodded. "Unbelievable. It's for our protection too."

"He does have a point there, Sasuke-kun," Sakura laughed, leaning against one of the trees.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke smirked. Seeing her breathing heavily, it twisted into a slight frown and he said, "Just rest for today; we already decided to use the first day for setting up base and reconnaissance."

She shook her head. "If a team stumbles across us before we're ready, I don't wanna get caught unaware while sitting on my ass."

"Have a little faith in me, Sakura-chan," Naruto called out teasingly while hanging upside-down on a tree and applying a tag. "Three traps are already set up anyway, and the first one will buy us time to relocate."

"Smoke and choking gas?" she asked.

"Nope! The one that goes boom for the boom god!" he chirped happily.

"Seriously?" she huffed in a dry tone.

"If our cover's blown by an enemy, we might as well screw them over by alerting the other teams to their position," Sasuke pointed out. She didn't have to see to know he was wearing a small wicked smirk and just shook her head.

"Damn straight! Oh Sasuke, make sure one of those shuriken fly up over there."

"There?"

"No, lower. See that hive over there about thirty meters away?"

"…Yeah, I see it."

"One of those thick branches is gonna swing and knock that sucker over here. I'm gonna dig a pitfall here."

"Ah. Nice."

"I do what I do."

"I got it, Naruto," Sakura spoke and moved to dig where he indicated.

"Thanks, Sakura."

Forty minutes later, Naruto's works were complete.

'_Like watching an artist paint,'_ Sakura mused. _'A mad artist.'_

"I love my job," Naruto quipped, grinning. "Should I make a den?"

"Generous of you," Sasuke said dryly, "but living like a mole once was enough."

"Fox, not mole, you ass," was the defensive reply. "And it was spacious enough, wasn't it?"

"We'd be vulnerable to Doton jutsu," Sakura pointed out. "Let's stay up in the trees."

"Fine, fine." Naruto paused for a moment, grimaced, and wobbled unsteadily.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Ergh…a clone found the queen."

They shared his disposition.

"Lost one already?" Sakura frowned.

"Yeah…wait, there goes another one. Shit, something that big shouldn't move that fast." He scowled. "Then again, a clone shouldn't be such a suicidal smartass."

Sasuke just fixed a level gaze on him.

"…Hey, even you'd wanna try riding that thing. At least he took out an eye before he got knocked off…and eaten…big pincers…"

Sakura shivered. "It's times like this I'm glad I don't know Kage Bunshin."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, not like I was gonna sleep tonight anyway," he joked.

Even Sasuke couldn't help but sigh tiredly.

* * *

Naruto was struggling. He struggled against the overbearing humidity, against the pulsating, thick, slimy walls, against the rhythmic contractions that were sending him further into oblivion. He struggled to stay calm, to breathe, to think, to make sense of the situation but it was so hard to breathe and he couldn't move at all and he was being digested would he be able to regenerate from being melted and eaten and turned into shit no probably not and that's disgusting—

"Naruto," he heard Satomi's stoic voice in the darkness coming from his jacket. "Stop flailing or I will burn you along with this fucking overgrown worm." He relaxed and breathed in what little air he could.

"I can't believe it…did we just get _eaten_ by a fucking _snake_?" he grumbled after a moment.

Really, they had just been minding their own business scouting and sneaking in the later hours of the morning after Sakura had recovered enough of her chakra and a quick breakfast composed of nuts and berries their medic had confirmed were safe to eat and a couple of fish with some really, really big teeth. When they finished up their meal, Kiroku had come bounding by, saying that he noticed a trio of Ame-nin with an Earth scroll being passed. He couldn't stay to see who ended up holding it; when they noticed him, he had to escape a storm of senbon. After Sakura made sure her summon wasn't injured, she dispelled him and Team Kakashi went off in search.

Or at least they were, until Naruto picked up sizzling sounds mid-transit and yelled for them to scatter. Unluckily, he landed on a soft patch of ground covering a large hidden scroll, and in the next moment, he was consumed.

"Big fucking snake," he growled.

"It doesn't matter. Stop wasting time and get us the fuck out of here." Naruto paused, having never heard such a dark tone come from her before.

"Satomi?"

"I'm not fond of snakes. Now _get us out of here_," she seethed.

Naruto swallowed at her foreboding attitude and made a cross seal. Two Shadow Clones appeared, one in front of and one behind him. He closed his eyes and concentrated as his clones pushed against the fleshy walls around them, expanding the space. They could feel the giant serpent pause in confusion as the Kage Bunshin got into a half-standing position, their limbs pressing against their prison.

Meanwhile, the real Naruto was immersing himself in Satomi's teachings.

"_My power as a demonic being of the earth was fueled mainly by instinct and rage,"_ she had said.

The thought of being helpless and trapped.

"_Even though it's been watered down by humanity,"_ she couldn't resist throwing in with a sneer, _"it still works the same."_

The thought that he and Satomi could die such a miserable death.

"_Baser feelings and potent emotions, particularly anger, will help you draw on it."_

The thought of being unable to protect his team.

"_However, youjutsu also requires a little extra something."_

The thought that this snake that dared to try and eat them…

"_A desire to utterly _destroy_ something."_

…was about to get a serious case of indigestion.

A tail made of deep blue chakra manifested behind him, and with his pupils slit, Naruto growled out, "**Kitsune Youjutsu: Kitsunebi.**"

Purple flames coated the tip of the ghostly appendage, and the tail slammed into the muscular wall. A sizzling sound filled their ears and an acrid, sickening scent wafted into their noses. Naruto grimaced slightly and wrinkled his nose, but he focused on the part of him that reveled in how satisfying it was to inflict such damage on the beast.

The serpent began writhing in pain and hissing madly as the section where its supposed meal resided corroded from the inside out due to extreme heat. The erratic thrashing caused Naruto's clones to lose their holds against the slimy envelopment around them, and they disappeared under the acute pressure and sharp flailing motions.

Naruto lost his concentration as the flesh contracted around him and his tail dissipated, but they could smell fresh air. He burrowed his way through the thick meat towards the small exit that had been seared open, and with great effort, he struggled through it and tumbled out onto the forest floor.

He barely registered the shout of "**Zankuha!**" before being blown back into the dying serpent's side.

* * *

"Shit!" Sasuke swore as he veered off to the side and landed on the ground while clutching his bleeding arm. The wood of the branch he was on splintered and he began moving again as he heard koto music starting up again. He didn't have to look to know Sakura was doing the same. The melody suddenly turned harsh and grating, prompting him to pivot and change directions…right into an awaiting enemy's attack from above. He stifled a cry of pain as he slammed into a tree trunk, courtesy of a kick from one of the female Oto-nin, the pale, silent one clad in a jet-black cross between a dress and a straitjacket with the arms loosened.

'_Too silent,'_ Sasuke forced himself to think through the pain. _'She made no noise whatsoever!'_

Several meters away, Sakura cried out in pain as a small, invisible explosion went off near her shin milliseconds after the other female Oto-nin snapped her fingers, causing the pink-haired girl to double back and regroup with her teammate.

"Sasuke-kun…" she panted, crouched down and glanced at the direction she came from.

"Aa, I know," he murmured, gritting his teeth. _'They're diverting us away from Naruto. Divide and conquer.'_ He glared daggers at the trio of hindrances standing on a tree in front of them and looking down at them.

"Your overdue discovery does not matter," the albino nin stated matter-of-factly as he reached behind his lavender robes and maneuvered his koto onto one bent leg while balancing effortlessly on the other. "You will not reach your comrade."

"Of course, you're welcome to die trying," the maroon-haired girl in a navy-blue gi and skin tight black shorts sniffed with disdain as she rubbed her fingers together in anticipation.

The last of them, with long, stringy black hair and dull eyes just as dark, remained silent and stared impassively down at her targets.

"Fucking clichés," Sasuke scoffed, flexing his wounded arm. "Don't get cocky just because you got a few lucky hits."

"Damn straight," Sakura said, standing up. The wound caused by the compact explosion was now closed, though it still ached and sported a large bruise.

"Pah. You weaklings need to be put in your pla—" The more vocal of the girls didn't get finish her sentence before a smoke bomb went off near Sakura's foot. "What—"

"Got it when she was healing, huh…" the one called Hiyoshi realized. "Kyou, Kayako," he ordered them into a defensive formation while concentrating for any other noise around them. His allies did the same, readying for an attack that could strike from anywhere. However, when the shroud cleared…

"**Senkouhou no Jutsu!**"

* * *

"**Fuuton: Fuujin no Tamei**—guh!" Naruto's concentration dissipated like the air he was collecting in his lungs as another invisible blast of pressure slammed into him.

'_Well, this sucks,'_ he thought as he staved off disorientation.

Kage Bunshin had been a mistake; two were left and were doing their best to ward off and counter attacks. The others that had been lost graciously sent flashes of nausea caused by that freaky metal gauntlet and double vision courtesy of all that gods-forsaken ringing.

'_Fuck genjutsu,'_ he scowled as he agilely made his way higher and higher onto the towering trees. He threw kunai with exploding tags onto choice branches here and there, sending them plummeting down onto his pursuing attackers while hoping his teammates or some allies would be drawn to their position.

"So where's that strength you were boasting?!" the one called Zaku crowed before blasting a lumbering branch out of the way. To his surprise, a clone was behind it with a gravity-enforced fist cocked back.

"In your face, bitch!" the Kage Bunshin sneered before connecting the hit. His triumph was cut short thanks to kunai entering his eye and neck.

The real Naruto shut his left eye reflexively and hissed. "Ow…and that was so lame."

His dry smile widened when he heard the thud of Zaku's body crashing onto a branch below. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Satomi's red-orange form zigzagging through the foliage, and when the kunoichi Kin went down to check on her teammate, she barely dodged getting her jugular sliced open by claws.

The sound of rustling fabric behind him registered too late and as Naruto turned to defend, his vision was covered with metal and a sharp, cracking pain erupted.

"In your face, bitch," Dosu chuckled darkly as the blond howled and clutched at his broken nose.

Naruto fell back off the branch into free fall, flashing through hand seals. He grabbed a kunai and swung it, roaring "**Tsukigata Hayate no Jutsu!**"

A massive blade of wind arced out, cutting cleanly through the wood of the Forest of Death. The invisible crescent traveled several meters and was so large, Dosu could not escape unscathed. He clutched at his bleeding arm and jumped back straight into the path of a drop kick from Naruto's remaining Kage Bunshin.

Naruto himself, however, was an easy target in mid-fall and a recovered Zaku's Zankuha sent him impacting against a tree. He rolled down its length and collided into the earth below.

Satomi quickly bounded out to check on the groaning teen who spat out a globule of blood onto the forest floor. She braced herself to unweave her transformation as the team of Oto-nin dove for the kill, but they both tensed then relaxed at the sound of crinkling wire.

"**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!**"

Fire ran down lengths of specially-crafted steel, creating a deadly twisting net of angry blazes in the air. The Oto-nin cursed as they were warded off, heat pressing down on them and flames licking at their bodies.

Naruto felt himself being lifted and carried to safety.

"Sorry we're late," Sakura murmured.

He laughed a little breathlessly. "No wait, lemme guess: you two went on a stroll first and got lost."

"Who do you think we are? Kakashi-sensei?" she smiled a bit despite the situation.

There was a shout of "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!**" above them, causing Naruto to snort.

"Damn pyro," he muttered not unkindly. "How are you two holding up?"

"Better than you," shot Sasuke, landing nearby. Naruto eyed his bloodstained sleeve skeptically. "We need to double back before the other team catches up—"

"Down!" Sakura screamed.

Sasuke ducked without question or hesitation, and a kunai held in a reverse grip whistled through the space above him, shearing off several black hairs.

"What the…I didn't hear her at all!" Naruto gaped at the dark kunoichi, eyeing her black straitjacket-like outfit with trepidation as she stalked them like a huntress on the prowl. He couldn't pick up any sound from her at all, and her scent was…_wrong_.

A fair distance behind her, their enemies had all regrouped.

"Hiyoshi! Kyou!" Zaku snarled. "Can't you guys do anything right?!"

"Do not waste your breath, Zaku," the albino replied calmly. "Our ears are still ringing and our vision is impaired. Only Kayako has recovered. Focus on our targets."

Naruto relayed what he could pick up from them to his teammates quietly. They nodded grimly.

"Can you run on your own now?" Sakura asked the blond.

He nodded and took his weight off of her.

"Sasuke-kun, cover. Naruto, diversions," she commanded.

Sasuke dropped a handful of smoke bombs one by one behind them as they leapt through the forest, sneaking in three toxic ones here and there. Naruto summoned a large batch of Kage Bunshin, who proceeded to shower their rear and flanks with shuriken from above. Meanwhile, Sakura carefully molded her chakra and went through a series of seals. A surreptitious field of her chakra expanded to their surroundings.

The Oto-nin did their best to dodge the Shadow Clones' shuriken. Kin gagged when she took a whiff of poison gas that Zaku and Kyou didn't manage to blow away in time. Hiyoshi and Dosu both looked at her in alarm, then Dosu and Kyou both crashed into seemingly empty space.

"Genjutsu!" Kyou snarled in a daze.

Kayako fell back to her comrades and released a burst of chakra without a sound. The illusion melted away, revealing branches here and there that were camouflaged. Naruto's Kage Bunshin then promptly charged them all head-on.

Zaku weaved through the foliage as he dodged the blond doppelgangers, and when he landed near a particular tree trunk, an arm suddenly shot out from it, startling him. A sharp tingling pain radiated from his bicep and then his right arm went totally numb. He swore vehemently and leapt away while sending shuriken at the camouflaged part of the tree, but Sakura was already abandoning the cloth and jumping away, throwing senbon at any of the Oto-nin she could see.

Three of Naruto's Kage Bunshin were harassing Hiyoshi, preventing him from playing his koto. Frustration was flashing through the normally stoic teen's visage as he gracefully avoided heavily telegraphed but numerous blows. A pair of Sharingan watched carefully from a thicket and when Naruto's clones suddenly shifted their sloppy taijutsu into swift, feral strikes, Hiyoshi was momentarily taken aback. Sasuke traced his movements and right when Hiyoshi was about to overextend his leg to dodge a vicious swipe, the Uchiha released a single kunai. Hiyoshi stepped right where Sasuke predicted, bent back to avoid Naruto's blow, then heard a sharp twang; the kunai had sliced through the strings of his koto. Sasuke reveled in his triumph for half a second before relocating to rain flames down and keep an eye on the abnormally silent Kayako.

Meanwhile, Naruto had joined the fray with his Kage Bunshin, and a trio of them charged straight at Kyou, who was taking out his clones with precise snaps of her fingers. As she noticed their approach, she quickly redirected her miniature explosions towards them. Three snaps, and a clone poofed out of existence. Another three, another clone. Another three, and he ignored the bursts of invisible pressure that tore at his skin. Her eyes widened when she realized he was the real one, and she redoubled her attacks, but Naruto pressed forward like a juggernaut, even when one of the explosions set off dangerously close to his eye above the brow. Blood trickled down and turned the left side of his vision red; the sight of him and his relentless approach had Kyou starting to backpedal, but he was already cocking his fist back. With a mighty roar, it impacted against her jaw and she flew back, spinning in the air and bouncing onto the forest floor shortly after one of her teeth did.

Hiyoshi gave a low whistle as he landed near Kyou to check on her, signaling the rest of them to regroup and recover from Team Kakashi's counterattack. The other Oto-nin gathered around them in a defensive perimeter while the trio of Konoha rookies gathered a tree thirty meters away and watched them warily. Hiyoshi frowned deeply, taking note of the way Kyou's eyes were dazed and her inability to focus her vision.

'_Concussion,'_ he deduced.

He also observed that the blond one's wounds seemed to be healing already.

'_Sensei failed to mention this.'_

"You bitch!" Zaku snarled at Sakura from beside him. He was pale and shaking slightly. "What the hell did you do to my arm?!"

"I attempted to cut your muscles," was the cool reply. "However, I admit I'm actually still in training, so I may have accidently cut your nerves too. Sorry about that."

They didn't have to see it to know she was sneering.

Naruto huffed in amusement and glanced at Sasuke, whose lips twitched upward minutely.

"Looks like you guys done goofed," the blond jeered. "Nice try."

"Surrender your scrolls and we will let you retreat," Sasuke continued. "Spare yourselves any more humiliation."

They could practically taste their enemies' rage and frustration in the air and drank deeply of it. Only Hiyoshi and Kayako retained some semblance of calm.

"Kayako," he spoke. "The circumstances call for you to escalate this."

She did not reply, but instead stepped forward. Naruto prepared a cross seal, Sasuke stretched some wire, and Sakura whipped out senbon between her fingers.

The dark girl closed her eyes, and the atmosphere shifted. Everyone present felt a slither of _something_ up their spines; the air had become unnatural.

"It spiked," Naruto murmured. They didn't move, but he felt his teammates' question. "Her scent…it's all wrong. And that wrongness just spiked."

She smelled like sweet decay, but there was an undercurrent of acridness. She smelled like danger and fear and death-but-not-quite and Naruto felt an urge to annihilate her, to eliminate all trace of whatever she was.

She opened her eyes, and they were yellow and glowing, and something black was creeping along her skin—

Suddenly, the scent of saturated blood and earth assailed his nose. Dread chilled all of them as a bloodthirsty presence settled between the two camps in a swirl of wind and sand.

Sabaku no Gaara had arrived, though his back was turned to Team Kakashi.

"…Can't get much worse than this," Naruto quipped in a joking tone that didn't sound joking at all, even to his ears.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hiyoshi asked cautiously, pulling a now-normal-looking Kayako behind him.

The unstable redhead weighed them all with cold eyes the color of pale jade.

"They are my prey," he proclaimed without emotion as though it were a simple fact of life. "My prey and mine alone. Leave or I will kill you." Tendrils of sand swirled around them and they hesitated.

Hiyoshi slowly held up his hands and gave a careful polite bow. "…Understood." Zaku and Kyou looked ready to protest, but Hiyoshi quickly silenced them with a firm wave of his hand. "Our objectives have changed. Fall back." Without another word, he left off followed by Kayako and Dosu. The rest followed shortly after shooting displeased glances.

Even though the number of hostiles against Team Kakashi had dwindled down to just one, the general unspoken sentiment between them had shifted from "_Oh shit, this is bad_" to "_Bad bad really bad metric fuckton of bad._"

Gaara turned around slowly. The tendrils were lazily drifting about as though they were just dancing upon the wind and not in fact ready to spear them all in seconds.

Naruto swallowed as jade met sapphire. "Why so interested in us?" he demanded, hoping his words would buy them some time to figure something out.

"Because you will confirm my existence," was the not-so-simple answer.

Naruto blinked, Sasuke tightened his jaw, and Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You three are strong, so you are a threat to my existence," Gaara explained in a steady tone that unnerved them. "I will kill you so I can continue."

"Gods," Sakura swallowed thickly through her mounting fear. "What did Suna do to this guy?"

"Worse than what I went through," Naruto realized.

Gaara gave him a closer look. "…You…are the same as me?"

Naruto's eyes involuntarily flickered down towards his navel, and he glanced at Sasuke and Sakura before returning his gaze to the redhead. "…Yeah," he said finally. "And no."

A flash of confusion broke through the ice for an instant as he surveyed the team. "…They will betray you," Gaara proclaimed.

"They will never betray me," came the immediate and sure response.

"Your village doesn't care for you."

Here, Naruto hesitated before saying, "Not all of them. Not yet."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, but didn't get to reply. Naruto heard the snaps and whistling metal before anyone else, and he poured chakra in conjunction with the cross seal. A horde of clones took to the air above his team, shielding them from the deluge of senbon. Multiple poofs rang out and he was assaulted by the sensations of needles piercing every which way, but he bought Sakura enough time to raise a Doroku Gaeshi to protect them from the rest.

Gaara, they noted, didn't move at all. He didn't need to. They watched in fascination as his sand swiftly rose up to protect him from the onslaught.

'_There's no active use of chakra,'_ Sasuke grasped with his Sharingan. _'It's either an automatic response or his control is that perfect, and if he's the same as Naruto, I doubt it's the latter.'_

Once the storm of steel passed, the sand then shot through the trees and three cries of surprise and pain rang out shortly. It lazily dragged out its captured prey in a macabre parody of fishing. The suspended quarry turned out to be a trio of Ame-nin.

'_Don't tell me…'_ Naruto gaped.

'_Those are the ones Kiroku-san described!'_ Sakura sent confirming gestures to her teammates, and Sasuke's face darkened considerably.

"Shit! Let us go!" one of them shouted. The sand only cocooned them tighter.

"We were having a conversation," Gaara stated. "Is it not considered rude to interrupt?" He raised one of his hands ominously.

"Alright, we get it!" another cried, the panic becoming evident in his voice. "Now let us go! No harm, no foul, right?"

"Let us remedy that."

"Wha—"

The sounds would haunt Team Kakashi for nights to come. It was a dull squelching mixed with the loud crunch of bones and accentuated by a very brief shriek of anguish and terror. Blood didn't fall to the ground; the sand hoarded it greedily, hungrily. The smell of iron, earth, and meat saturated the air.

Sakura's hands flew up over her mouth, Sasuke went beyond his natural paleness, and Naruto was thunderstruck.

"Baiu!" the apparent leader screamed. "You sonuva—you monster!"

"We're gonna die," the other Ame-nin whimpered. "Baiu...fuck, what do you to do Baiu?! Oh gods we're gonna die! Shigure! Shigure, we're gonna die! Please don't kill us, please don't oh shit please don't we're just genin we were supposed to get promoted together this year and _mmphf?!_"

Sand poured slowly into his mouth.

"Shut up," Gaara intoned as the same way one would regard an ant crawling on his arm. "You're noisy."

The sand continued to force its way into his mouth, into his trachea, into his esophagus, and it was scratching away at the viscera and filling his lungs and it burned and he couldn't breathe and into his stomach and his organs were screaming in protest and no that was him in his mind because he couldn't scream for real and his eyes were rolling up into his head and his vision was flashing red and black and he was convulsing and—

'_Don't gag,'_ Sakura mentally pleaded to herself as they watched the Ame-nin's head continue to twitch now and again. _'Neurons are still firing,'_ the scientific part of her mind noted. _'Wildly. Desperately. Oh gods.'_

The remaining Ame-nin Shigure was shouting vehemently, cursing the killer. His eyes were wide and wild and unseeing; he knew he was going to die and he raged against it out defiance and fear with spittle flying from his mouth.

Gaara mentally directed his sand to cover Shigure's head as well, muffling his venom-laced rants.

Naruto sprang into action, unable to allow the atrocity to continue. "Let him go!" he roared as he charged forth.

"Naruto, no!"

"Idiot, get back!"

A deluge of bloodstained sand loomed over him to crush him, but Naruto nimbly leapt back and produced more Kage Bunshin to misdirect the attacks. The sand was murderous and relentless. It punched holes in the clones, decapitated them, crushed them, suffocated them, even hit them with enough force to tear heads off.

'_Ignore it ignore it ignore it,'_ Naruto chanted in his mind, frantically trying to recall tips and techniques about compartmentalizing that Sasuke had attempted to drill into his thick head. _'Not me, just clones, not actually happening, already happened, already done.'_

He couldn't ignore it, however, when he felt sand crawl up and consume his right arm.

There was a brief moment of panic. And then there was pressure.

Once upon a time, Team Kakashi had done a D-rank mission at a lumber company. There, they had all observed the workings of a wood thresher with morbid fascination.

If Naruto wasn't screaming so much, he would've felt empathy for the trees.

A purple fireball descended from the treetops and the sound of a thousand birds rang out as Sasuke leapt to Naruto's defense. Part of the sand turned to glass from the sheer heat of the demonic flames, and the ball of concentrated electrical chakra in Sasuke's hand cut away at it. The sand shuddered and looked as if it were retreating.

"Wha—ah, _aaaaaa__**aaaaahhhhh**_**!**" Gaara screamed suddenly, clawing at his head.

They all noticed the guttural change in his voice.

Sakura quickly launched a volley of kunai with explosive tags attached and Gaara's sand immediately flew up to intercept and muffle them.

"Go!" Sasuke commanded, and the team leapt, pouring chakra into their legs. High above them in the trees, Satomi followed.

The sand didn't pursue them, but whether it was because of the hidden Satomi's display of power or just because of Gaara's mental incapacitation, they didn't know.

The team just kept running.

* * *

"Gaara?" Temari asked hesitantly as she and Kankuro approached their wayward and crouching brother, having finally tracked him down.

Siblings or not, they still kept their distance; sand permeated the air, but it was steadily trickling back into the gourd on the redhead's back.

"No, mother…yes, mother…" they heard him mutter. "Yes…I will…"

Ignoring Kankuro's furtive shakes of his head, Temari swallowed hard and ventured closely. "Gaara?" she tried again.

Quick as a flash, sand wrapped around her neck, loose enough to allow a whisper of oxygen to pass through, but tight enough that she had to fight for it.

"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted, already connecting chakra strings to the bundle on his back. Temari gestured sharply with a hand, commanding him to stand down.

"Did you get the scroll?" Gaara inquired as he stood up, calm once more.

Temari nodded against the sand with a tight gurgle. It released her and she collapsed to the forest floor. She leapt back near Kankuro and massaged her reddening neck.

He turned his head just enough to gaze at them dispassionately like he didn't just almost commit fratricide.

They, seasoned genin of Suna, children of the Yondaime Kazekage himself, shuddered helplessly at that look.

Gaara straightened and began walking off. "Good. Come. Let's get this over with."

Temari and Kankuro shared a look filled with a volume of fear, despair, and regret before following their homicidal little brother without protest.

Usually, Gaara's eyes were dull. Now, they held the glint of madness and of purpose.

* * *

"Let me see it," Sakura demanded as they settled down in the relative safety of their campsite. The adrenaline was finally wearing off and she was eyeing Naruto's jacket-covered arm.

"It's pretty bad, but it'll be fine," he said with a tight little smile and waved off her concern. "It'll heal."

"I already saw it," she replied tersely, recalling the gruesome sight when she turned to see him awkwardly shrugging off the left sleeve of his jacket as they were fleeing. She turned to look down at Satomi. "How long will it take to regenerate?"

"A few hours," the vixen replied in that guttural animal voice. "The damage looked extensive."

"Let her look at it," Sasuke said as he took inventory of their remaining supplies. "She'll help the healing along and save some time." He frowned once he finished. "We might need it; we didn't prepare enough weapons for this long of a venture, and there's still the third part of the Exam, whatever it is."

Naruto gave a reluctant grunt of agreement and began peeling at his jacket. Sakura moved over to help him. Naruto grimaced as the fabric tried to cling to the sticky, drying blood.

"We can't take this sleeve off normally," the pinkhead frowned.

"Cut it off," Sasuke said. Naruto gave him a look of horror mixed with pain. "You can always get a new one. Preferably with less orange," he couldn't resist saying.

Naruto just looked at him with abject betrayal, which he redirected to Sakura when she took out a long scalpel from her medical pouch.

"He's right," she said before promptly placing the knife near the cuff, blade-side up. "Don't move."

She carefully sawed away at the reinforced jacket, stopping and muttering apologies each time Naruto tensed or twitched when the metal kissed his wounds or when the fabric was pulled up a little too roughly. Some agonizing moments later, she sucked in a breath between her teeth as she slowly peeled the sleeve away from his…not-quite-an-arm.

Meat. More like half-ground meat.

"That's pretty gruesome," Sasuke commented mildly.

The blond's limb was absolutely mangled with rivulets of blood, both fresh and dried, running up and down. Particles and clumps of sand were strewn about here and there, and from hand to mid-bicep was an unholy amalgamation of Naruto's slight tan, wet crimson, and the love-child of blue and purple.

'_Wow, that looks like it hurts,_' Naruto thought as his mind rapidly lost detachment and proceeded to tell him that yes, it hurt. In fact, it was made of hurt. _'Why does everything have to hurt more when you look at it?'_

"I need to clean this," Sakura murmured, her voice a little strained. "There's sand and blood and bits of fibers everywhere. Gauze. I need gauze and rubbing alcohol and let me know if you feel faint or anything and I think the bone is broken too…"

Because really, the forearm should _not_ be twisted in that sort of angle _at all_ and thank the gods it was Naruto who got wounded this badly because at least he had demonic regeneration and no that was a horrible horrible thought because was she actually glad that he was wounded yes and no but they were all relatively okay and got away and still alive after all that excitement and—

She took a slow, deep breath. _'Don't panic. We're alive. We're still here. Team first, Exam first, panic later.'_

Sasuke had already brought out a canteen of water and was sterilizing it with a mild Katon. He handed it to her when he finished and gazed at her steadily before nodding slightly.

"We're alright, Sakura-chan," Naruto voiced for them all. "It was a clusterfuck of a morning, but we're alright."

"We got lucky," Sasuke snapped in a low, clipped voice. "_Lucky_."

_Lucky enough to run away_.

The unspoken frustration produced a thick silence between them.

"Yes, you did," Satomi stated, and they watched as she shifted into a humanoid form in front of them. "There's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, that's all you have at the end of the day. Pride means nothing to the dead."

"Why are you—" Naruto began to protest.

"You've warded this base enough. Even without it, I will know if anyone approaches," the vixen rebuked.

"But—"

"Do not question me."

Something in her voice made him back off and sent the others' already-shot nerves into overdrive.

After several minutes, Sakura spoke up and breathlessly said, "There. I've cleaned it as best as I can. His chakra and regeneration can purge what I've missed, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Satomi answered, inspecting Naruto's arm closely. "That's good enough."

Naruto closed his eyes slowly and blew out a slow breath, but shortly after hearing a rush of air and cloth, his eyes opened wide and his breath turned into a sharp hiss as pain blossomed on his upper arm.

Satomi had clamped her hand around his mangled limb with claws digging in.

"What are you doing?! His arm!" Sakura all but shrieked, and Sasuke was already in motion, reaching for Satomi's arm.

A burst of hot chakra sent them both tumbling to the ground.

"Don't hurt them!" Naruto seethed through grinding teeth. He looked up at her with tears of pain beginning to form, and his face was slack with confusion and betrayal.

"They are fine. Your arm will heal. _You_, however," she snarled and he quelled under the rage in her crimson eyes, "you and your _idiocy_…what were you thinking?"

"I—"

"No, you weren't even thinking. You charged headlong towards an opponent that I specifically told you to take caution with. You _rushed in_ against an opponent who was drenched with the intent to kill while you yourself had the intent to protect, _protect_," she spat it like a curse, "an opposing shinobi. Did you suddenly forget you are a ninja as well or that you are allowed to kill here? That it is _necessary_ to kill, especially in your profession? He tried to kill all of you and you wanted to _save_ your enemy," she sneered, "despite the fact his fate was sealed. And in _failing_ to save him, you forced Sasuke to waste that Chidori of Kakashi's to save your ass. That _once-a-day_ technique, remember?"

Naruto was burning red with shame and fury at this point and he wouldn't meet her gaze. Satomi tightened her grip causing him to cry out a little and look back up at her.

"You aren't your parents," she stated coldly. "Don't sacrifice yourself, especially for people who don't deserve it."

His good hand shot up at that to grasp at her forearm. It caused her to drive her claws in deeper, but he was repaying the gesture; without reacting in any way, she felt his nails lengthening into claws of his own.

Glaring at her with nearly glowing slitted eyes, he uttered a low "Fuck you."

They had a silent battle of wills for several suffocating moments, and then Naruto's eyes flickered downward. Satomi gave a small huff of exasperation and disgust and shoved him away. He fell on his ass with a grunt, and Sakura moved forward to move him up, but he held up his healthy clawed hand to stop her.

"'m fine," Naruto half-muttered, half-growled. He stood up, dusted himself off with his good hand, and began walking away from the campsite.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded.

"Short walk to clear my head. I'll stay within the wards." Without another word, Naruto swiftly turned and disappeared into the foliage.

Sakura bit her lip while Satomi deliberately refused to meet Sasuke's steady gaze.

"Sakura," he spoke up after a few seconds. "I'll prepare some rations. Go make sure that dobe doesn't reopen his wounds or something."

She looked at his impassive face for a brief moment then nodded, mentally rolling her eyes. _'Right. Because Uchiha Sasuke is a genius at everything but Human Interaction 101.'_

Sakura leapt off and the little clearing of theirs began to be filled with the sound of shuffling packs and supplies.

"Funny way of showing you care," Sasuke said suddenly without looking up.

He could feel the weight of Satomi's hard stare, and he steadfastly dismissed it.

"…I don't want to hear that coming from you," she finally replied.

He scoffed and reached for one of the plastic-wrapped foam cups that Naruto had jammed into his pack.

* * *

"Naruto?" Sakura called out as she approached the border of their traps' effective range.

"…Here."

She tilted her head up and there he was, sitting against the trunk atop a branch. Two chakra-aided jumps and she landed next to him.

"…Lemme see your arm," she said softly.

"Bleeding's already stopped," Naruto replied with an equally soft voice, but he turned his right side to her nonetheless.

Sakura in turn took out a roll of bandages and began covering his arm to prevent any contaminants from slowing down his regeneration. They remained silent for minutes.

"…I know she's right," he muttered. "I messed up."

She rubbed his shoulder soothingly, but said nothing.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Are your parents…are they okay with you being a kunoichi?"

She took in a sharp breath before she even realized it.

"Sakura?"

"…Not really," she admitted. Forcing her tone to sound wry, she continued "You know how civilians can be."

Sakura shoved away the memories of loud, heated arguments and broken explanations. She never complained, never showed disrespect, and never gave her team details.

After all, it wasn't like Sasuke-kun and Naruto had parents to argue with in the first place.

"I guess…" he murmured. "And…how'd you deal with it? When you realized what it meant to be a ninja?" he clarified.

"_To be shinobi is to walk with death_," she recited quietly. "_Death in your hands, death in your heart_."

They both took a moment to reflect on one of Iruka's first lessons at the Academy.

"It's worse for iryou-nin, you know," Sakura murmured with a humorless twist of her lips. "We're probably the biggest hypocrites in the ninja world. In fact, it was one of the first things Rin-san wrote about in her scroll."

She examined the tip of her right thumb where she had bit down upon the other day; it was scabbing over nicely. She raised her left hand and concentrated chakra into it.

"One moment, we're restoring health and saving lives…"

She hovered her fingertips over her wounded thumb and in a matter of seconds, the scab fell away, leaving behind mended flesh, pinker than the rest of her skin.

"…And in the next…"

She casually waved her left hand against a falling leaf and Naruto thoughtfully watched as it fluttered down to earth in halves.

"Remember Wave?" Sakura asked in an almost-whisper.

"Yeah," he replied solemnly, realizing she was referring to her first kills.

"At first, I became a kunoichi because I wanted an adventure," she admitted with a degree of shame and embarrassment. "I didn't wanna just be that pink-haired civilian girl with the big forehead. I wanted to make something more of myself."

A few borrowed books and scrolls from the library, and when she channeled chakra correctly on the first try, Sakura's childish fantasy was within reach. When she graduated from the Academy, she thought her fantasy became a reality.

Then the mission in Wave happened and it all became _real_.

"It may not have turned out exactly as I imagined," she said wryly, "but if it's for the sake of my team, my village, and people like those we helped in Wave, then I'll gladly bear it all."

Sakura turned to look into Naruto's eyes.

"I'm sure your parents would be proud of you, Naruto. Maybe not those stupid and reckless moves of yours like earlier," she glared sternly at him, causing him to give a sheepish smile, "but in general, they'd be proud of how you turned out."

She smiled at the thoughtful look on his face and then helped him stand.

"C'mon. Let's head back to the others."

"Un."

What he didn't say was that yes, he remembered Wave, and he recalled that a part of Sakura had enjoyed dispatching those thugs. What he didn't say was that a part of him had enjoyed watching those Ame-nin get slaughtered like animals, and that was a major reason why he had rushed in to save the last one.

Maybe it was Satomi's bloodthirsty influence sneaking up on him and affecting him more than he'd like, or maybe it was because he could've turned out like Gaara and he could understand that horribly casual disregard for life.

He just didn't want to say anything that would make that compassion on Sakura's face turn into horror.

They arrived back to the campsite shortly.

Satomi turned to him and her face was very, very blank, but he knew, so he nodded at her, if a bit tersely.

Sasuke wordlessly handed him a cup of salty goodness, and he muttered a "Thanks" and Sasuke just grunted in reply.

Naruto made a note that the bastard took the last spicy shrimp flavored one for himself.

Sakura offered to help him eat, but he just stubbornly finagled with chopsticks in his left hand and the cup of noodles between his thighs, much to their amusement.

He took it all in stride, even when he offered some of his ramen to Satomi and she raised an eyebrow before striding over, plucking it out of his hands, and downing the rest of the contents in two gulps.

He protested loudly and there were laughs and smirks, and he took it all in stride because he took solace in the fact that if any of them went through even a fraction of what happened to those Ame-nin, there wouldn't be the slightest bit of vindictive pleasure.

No, there would be nothing but sheer _terror_ and abject _rage._

He clung to that fact like a lifeline.

**CHAPTER END**

* * *

**Translations:**

Kuchiyose no Jutsu - Summoning Technique

Youjutsu - Demonic Technique

Zankuha - Decapitating Air Wave

Ryuuka no Jutsu - Dragon Fire Technique

Chidori - literally "Thousand Birds"

Kiroku (貴鹿) - translates to "noble stag"

Azuki (足月) - uses the nanori for "foot" and "moon"

**Original/Non-canonical Techniques:**

Senkouhou no Jutsu (閃光砲の術 - "Flash Cannon Technique"), D-rank:  
_Double-edged technique in which user claps his or her hands together in a powerful manner, releasing energy and emulating the blinding flash and roar of a lightning bolt. It is highly recommended that the user and all supporting units close their eyes. If without a means to cover his or her ears, user will be temporarily deaf after this attack._

Fuujin no Tameiki (風神の溜め息 - "Sigh of the Wind God"), D-rank:  
_User collects a large breath of air and forces it out through the mouth, similar to **Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**. Can deflect projectile weapons and push back opponents._

Tsukigata Hayate no Jutsu (月形疾風の術 - "Crescent Gale Technique"), D-rank:  
_A simpler variant of **Fuuton: Hayate Juuji no Jutsu** that produces a single blade of wind. Easier to control and usage of two hands can generate considerable size and force._

**Original Characters - The Second Sound Team:**

Banka Hiyoshi (晩歌氷和 - "evening, song, ice, harmony")  
Sex: Male  
Age: 16  
Height: 181 cm  
Weight: 54 kg  
Hair Color: white  
Eye Color: pale red-violet  
Voice Inspiration: Midorikawa Hikaru

Hajishiki Kyou (弾識叫 - "burst, knowledge, shout")  
Sex: Female  
Age: 15  
Height: 169 cm  
Weight: 57 kg  
Hair Color: maroon  
Eye Color: brown  
Voice Inspiration: Miyamura Yuko

Yamamura Kayako (疚斑果耶子 - "painful, erratic, produce, question, child")  
Sex: Female  
Age: 12  
Height: 155 cm  
Weight: 46 kg  
Hair Color: black  
Eye Color: black  
Voice Inspiration: Rikimaru Noriko

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Before people start raising red flags and pitchforks about the Kuchiyose and the Chidori at this stage of the game, I wanna point out that my Team Kakashi has had an almost-year of preparation already, and even then, there are notable limitations.

So why rabbits? Why not? I think they offer a nice contrast to Sakura's teammates. Rabbits are also small, swift, and most importantly, easy to underestimate. Moreover, it's said that the red eyes of certain rabbits can hypnotize and invoke madness, not unlike genjutsu.

Satomi's presence forces me to be very careful on how I need to deal with Gaara.

I provided some basic information for the OC Sound team because they're relatively pertinent to the fic.

Eh? What other snake? I already gave you guys one; don't be greedy.


End file.
